The Perfect Fan
by horseaholic
Summary: Roger Davis meets his biggest fan, Stephanie Bradford, but not in the way you'd think. Then something happens to Stephanie during the concert the next night, and fate brings them together again. Post Rent. RogerOC, MarkOC.
1. Chapter 1

Standard disclaimers apply. If I owned Rent, I'm sure Jonathan Larson and I would have serious issues.

I thought up this idea several days ago. To me, since I know a lot about the subject, it seemed like a good, original Rent idea. It's post-Rent, by the way, and I know some of you will hate me for both Angel and Mimi being dead, but I don't mess with perfection, OK? I'm not Larson, and I don't try to be... OK, I'll stop rambling now, and you can read on!

**Chapter 1**

* * *

As the band struck their last chord, the crowd burst into applause. Roger grinned at the cheering fans and noticed a particularly pretty girl with a bright smile at the front of the crowd. He smiled at her and spoke into the microphone.

"Thank you, ladies and gentlemen," he said. "Once again, we are Mute and we had a great time tonight, performing for all of you. We will be back tomorrow for another great show, and we hope to see you all there. Thank you, God Bless, and goodnight."

Roger smiled again, turned off the microphone, and took off his guitar. Setting it down on the stage, he met the gaze of the girl, who was remaining behind, and then he joined his band in disassembling the equipment.

* * *

A little while later, Roger went out to the lobby of the building and sat down at the table with his band to begin signing autographs. Roger spotted the girl in the crowd, and eventually, it was her turn to meet the band and get her merchandise signed. She handed Roger the ticket stubs, three CD's, and a T-shirt. Roger and his bandmates signed the stuff for her, and then another girl came up beside her.

"Did you get the stuff signed, Stephie?" she asked.

"Yes, Jen, I did," Stephanie said. She looked at Roger. "I'm Stephanie Bradford, by the way, and this is Jennifer Dawson. We're, like, your biggest fans."

Roger chuckled. "I bet," he said. "I'm glad you liked the concert."

"We've actually seen you guys four times in the past six months, but this is the first time we've actually been able to meet you," Stephanie said. "Once in Baltimore, another time in Los Angeles, a third time in Philadelphia, and another time in Richmond."

Roger was surprised. "Wow," he said. "You girls went all the way across the country for us?"

Stephanie grinned again and shrugged. "Anything for our boys," she said.

Roger laughed. He already liked this girl. He'd, of course, seen thousands of fans in person before, but Stephanie was different. Tall and slender, she had platinum blonde hair that shone in the light and flowed down the length of her back. Her blue eyes were like sapphires that sparkled from within her heart-shaped face. She smiled at him again. He noticed her teeth were perfect, too.

Charlie, DJ, Graham, and Tommy finished signing Stephanie and Jennifer's merchandise and handed it back to them. The girls smiled at the band members one last time and then turned and left.

Charlie was giving Roger a suspicious look. Roger raised his eyebrows. "What?" he asked, in an innocent tone that deceived nobody.

"Oh, come on, Roger," Charlie said. "You _like _her, don't you?" he teased in a sing-song voice.

Roger smiled. "I could," he replied. "We'll see."

Charlie smirked. He knew that, already, Roger was falling hard for his biggest fan.

* * *

During the show the next night, Roger could barely concentrate. All he could think about was Stephanie. The whole duration of the concert, he was lucky he never messed up, because she and Jennifer were standing right in front of him, even leaning up against the stage. When he walked by, a thrill went through Roger's body every time Stephanie's hand touched his. Roger noticed a dazed, glassy look in Stephanie's deep blue eyes that he couldn't help but think was strangely familiar from his past, and this worried him slightly. He sensed something was wrong, but he couldn't figure out what from ten feet away.

They'd begun their final song when it happened. Jennifer looked over at Stephanie and noticed the distant look on her face. As the crowd tightened around them, Stephanie suddenly began to seize.

Jennifer cast a horrified look at Roger.

"Stephanie," she yelled. "Stephanie! Oh my God! Roger, help her!" she screamed.

Jennifer could barely hold onto Stephanie, she was shaking so badly. The band stopped playing in the middle of the song and Roger took off his guitar, set it down on the stage, and jumped into the crowd. He, Charlie, DJ, and Tommy managed to get people to move back, but it was difficult.

"What's wrong with her?" Jennifer asked, horrified.

"She's having a seizure," Roger said. "Does she have a history of them?"

"Not that I know of," Jennifer said, and she clutched Stephanie even more firmly, for fear of dropping her. Jennifer sat down on the floor and cradled Stephanie in her arms. Roger stood by them the whole time. One of the security guards dialed 911, and finally, Stephanie's seizure stopped. A few minutes later, the paramedics arrived and made their way through the crowd of people.

"We need to get these people out of here," Charlie said. "Come on, DJ, Tommy, they need to leave. Now. But keep a path clear for Stephanie and the paramedics."

Charlie, DJ, and Tommy quickly spoke into the microphones. The crowd, thankfully, took them seriously and filed out as quickly as possible, leaving a pathway for the EMT's. Roger met Charlie's gaze and he nodded.

"Go with her," Charlie said. "We can take care of this stuff. She needs her idol."

Roger smiled gratefully at him. "Thanks, Charlie," he said. "See you guys later. I'll call when we know anything."

And without another word, he followed the EMT's out to the ambulance and went with them and Jennifer, not letting go of Stephanie's hand the whole way.

* * *

Don't forget to review. In the next chapter, you'll find out why the seizure happened.

In case anyone was curious, the title of this story is one of my former favorite, old Backstreet Boys songs. It seemed to fit the story just perfectly, so I decided to use it. Naturally, I don't profit off it in any way. Wishful thinking, though.

Thanks for reading!

Until next time, love of love,

Renthead07


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

* * *

"Hey, Stephanie…" a familiar voice said. "Wake up, Sleeping Beauty, it's time to leave the world of the dead and join the world of the living."

Stephanie opened her eyes and realized she was in a hospital bed. She looked around, confused.

"It's OK, Stephie, it's Jen," Jennifer said, seeing her friend's confused look. "I'm here, Steph; Roger is, too."

"Jen? Roger?" Stephanie asked, sitting up slowly and rubbing the side of her head gingerly. "What happened?"

"You had a seizure, Steph," Jennifer said. "During the concert, don't you remember?"

"No, I don't," Stephanie said, shaking her head. She grimaced and lay back against the pillows. "I feel sick."

"The doctor said that's an aftermath effect of the seizure," Jennifer said. "They're still trying to figure out what caused it." She looked at Stephanie and took her hand. "I'm just glad you weren't alone."

"So am I, Jen," Stephanie said. "Jen, I… I'm sorry."

Jennifer shook her head. "No," she said, "it wasn't your fault. Don't you go feeling guilty, OK? These things happen sometimes."

Stephanie looked at her painfully. If only they knew…

"Jen, I…" she began, but she couldn't bring herself to say it just yet. Jennifer looked at her.

"What?" Jennifer asked. "What is it?"

"Nothing," Stephanie said, and she rolled over onto her side. "I'm really tired."

Jennifer nodded and hugged Stephanie gently. "You sleep," she said. "Roger and I will be back later, OK?"

Stephanie nodded. "OK," she said, and she gradually fell asleep after Roger pulled the covers up over her body.

Jennifer followed Roger out to the hallway and she leaned up against the wall. Only now did she realize how tired she was.

"Are you gonna be OK, Jen?" Roger asked.

Jennifer looked up at him. "Yeah, I'll be fine," she said. "I'm just tired from all of this."

"That's understandable," Roger said, and he came forward and put his arm around her. "You should go home and rest, too, Jen. I'll look after Stephanie."

Jennifer sighed and smiled gratefully at him. "Thanks, Roger," she said. "I really appreciate it."

"Anything for my two biggest fans," he said, smiling down at her. "What's your number, Jen? I'll call you when they know anything more."

Jennifer gave him her phone number. It occurred to her that she'd never wanted to give him her number under the current circumstances, even if she and Stephanie were stalkers. Jennifer knew Stephanie was hiding something from her; they'd known each other since second grade. Stephanie couldn't hide much of anything from Jennifer. Stephanie was usually so transparent. Was something really wrong?

_Dawson, stop it, _Jennifer thought to herself, as she walked down the hall and went outside to her car. _Stephanie is with Roger, her idol. She's gonna be fine. What could possibly be wrong?_

Jennifer heaved a sigh as she got into her car and began to drive away. It was amazing how much of an effect this all had on her. She even felt a little jealous. But could she be jealous when Stephanie's life was possibly in danger?

Jennifer put her car into reverse as her mind began to buzz with unanswered questions. She got back to her apartment and immediately went to her room and collapsed on her couch. She didn't even make it to her bed.

* * *

In the morning, Jennifer went to visit Stephanie again. Roger was sprawled out on three chairs in the hallway, snoring softly, his mouth wide open. Jennifer grinned and went up to him and shook him gently.

"Roger," she whispered. "Roger."

Roger stirred and woke with a start when he realized he was standing over him. "Jennifer?" he asked.

"Yeah, it's me," Jennifer said. "Are you OK? You should have gone home."

"I wasn't about to leave my biggest fan in the hospital, alone," Roger said, sitting up and smiling as she sat next to him. Jennifer looked up at him.

"Are we that transparent?" she asked.

"A little," Roger said, smiling, "but that's OK."

"Is she doing any better?"

"Yeah, she's fine. She's just resting. She hasn't told me anything yet. She's been awake for about half an hour."

Jennifer nodded. "I'm going to go in and see her. Do you want to come with?"

"Sure," Roger said. "Thanks, Jennifer."

Jennifer smiled. "Of course, Roger," she said, and she went in, Roger following close behind. "Hi, Stephie," she said to Stephanie.

"Hey, Jen," Stephanie said. "You look terrible."

"Thanks," Jen said, laughing. "Not as bad as you, though."

Stephanie smiled. "I feel better than I did," she said. "The doctors said I can go home this afternoon, since they did CAT Scans and found no damage."

Jennifer took Stephanie's hand into her own. "I'm glad," she said. "I was really scared for you, you know."

Stephanie nodded and jerked her arm out of Jennifer's grasp. "I know," she said, and she looked away. "But I can't help it if I'm an… an epileptic."

Jennifer looked straight into Stephanie's blue eyes. She could tell Stephanie wasn't telling the whole truth. "Stephie," she said, "if you know something about what happened, you know you can tell me, right?"

Stephanie's expression was set. "I know," she said. "There's nothing to tell."

Jennifer's eyebrows rose. "Are you sure?" she asked.

"Yeah, I'm sure, Jen," Stephanie said. "I said I'm an epileptic. What else is there to know?" She gave Jennifer a fierce look. "Why are you suddenly giving me the third degree?"

Jennifer stared at Stephanie, stung by her words. "Steph," she said, "we've known each other for what, 12 years?" Stephanie nodded. "You know you don't have to hide things from me. You can tell me anything. That's what best friends are for, right?"

Stephanie nodded again. "Right," she said evasively.

Jennifer looked at Roger. "Roger, can I talk to you out in the hall for a second?" she asked him.

"Sure, Jen," he said, and he went out into the hall with her, closing the door behind himself. "What's up?"

"I have a bad feeling Steph is hiding something from me," Jennifer said. "But I can't figure out what."

Roger wasn't sure what to say. "Well… maybe it's just one of those things that will take time to come out," he said. "Give her a few more days to rest up, and then see if she'll talk."

"OK," Jennifer said, nodding. "Thank you, Roger. I don't know what we would have done without you that night. You and the guys helped us out a lot."

"Eh, don't worry about it," Roger said, blushing modestly. "Anything for my biggest fans." He smiled down at her.

"Why do you suppose she jerked her arm away from me?" Jennifer asked suddenly.

Roger's eyebrows rose. "I don't know, Jen," he said. "Did you see anything on it? Like, say, track marks or something?"

Jennifer frowned. "What do you mean?" she asked.

"Jen, you know I'm a former addict, right?" Roger inquired.

Jennifer swallowed nervously as the thought dawned on her. "You _don't _think…?" she began, but her voice trailed off.

"I don't know," Roger said, "but it's a possibility. Tell me more about her."

Jennifer sat down slowly and Roger sat beside her. "Well…" Jennifer began. "She's a trust fund kid. Her parents are traveling the world. It's been like that since she was like, seven. She lived with me and my family until she was 16, and then she moved out. That's why we're so close."

Roger smiled. "That makes sense," he said. "What else?"

"She's kind of wild sometimes… we both are… as if you didn't know by now," Jennifer said, grinning. Then her face fell. "Sometimes I see her on the streets at night, drinking and stuff, and she thinks I don't know."

"I'm sorry, Jen," Roger said. "I wish I could help."

"There's nothing you can do, especially if we don't know anything," Jennifer said. "Should we really be jumping to conclusions?"

"No," Roger said. "But if we do think there's a possibility that she is an addict and has a problem, it's our problem, too. We're involved now."

Jennifer sighed and leaned into Roger for support. All this information was starting to give her a headache. "I just hope we can do something before she gets herself hurt… or killed," she said.

"So do I, Jen," Roger said, "so do I."

* * *

Don't forget to review. These next few weeks will be absolutely crazy for me, but I will update as soon as possible. It doesn't help that I neglected my chores last week and got banned from the computer in the mornings, LOL. Oh well, I can live without it in the morning... but I need it at night, LOL. OK, I'll stop rambling now, so you can review. Thanks for reading!

Until next time, lots of love,

Renthead07


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

* * *

Three weeks later, Jennifer woke suddenly in the middle of the night, but she didn't know why. For a few seconds, she lay still and listened from her trundle bed, where she was spending the night at Stephanie's house. It was quiet. Too quiet.

She went out into the hall and walked to the next room, where Stephanie was sleeping. One glance at the bed told Jennifer that Stephanie was gone yet again.

Jennifer sighed. Stephanie had to stop running off like this.

Jennifer frowned and went downstairs to the entryway, grabbed her coat and stepped out into the darkness. She quickly walked down the streets of Alphabet City and found Stephanie standing not twenty feet away from the loft, taking a miniature bag of white powder from a nasty-looking dealer.

Jennifer was stunned. Roger had been right. Stephanie was a junkie. Jennifer wondered how long Stephanie had been doing this. She went up to Stephanie and stood in front of her, out of reach of the dealer.

"Steph," she said, "come on. We need to get home. It's two A.M."

"Is it?" Stephanie asked airily. "Wow, I had no idea."

"I noticed. Come on," Jennifer said, and she took the bag from Stephanie.

"Hey," the dealer snarled, shoving Jennifer backward, "you steal my client, broad, you die."

"You won't miss us," Jennifer shot back. "Look around you, mister, you have plenty of customers." Jennifer grabbed Stephanie firmly by the shoulders. She could smell alcohol on her breath as well. "_Let's go_, Stephanie!"

Stephanie nodded and Jennifer walked back to Stephanie's house with her, not daring to let go of her, or the heroin, the whole way.

* * *

"You told me you'd quit drinking," Jennifer stated, once they were back at Stephanie's house and Jennifer had gotten Stephanie to stay put, and the heroin destroyed.

"I did," Stephanie said. "I just had a little champagne tonight, Jen. It's not a big deal."

"'Not a big deal?'" Jennifer echoed, as Stephanie sprawled out across the couch. "I found you drunk in an alleyway, buying smack from a dealer, Stephanie. How long have you been using?"

"I don't want to talk about it," Stephanie said, as she put an arm over her eyes and sighed. "I don't feel well."

"Well, no shit, you don't," Jennifer snapped. "That's what alcohol does to you, Stephanie. It slows you down. That's why our classmates Jaden, Mike, Mitch, and Amber died, Steph, in drunken driving crashes. Is this how you see yourself dying? Combined with the smack, who knows what the alcohol could be doing to you."

"Shut the fuck up, Jennifer," Stephanie snapped. "You don't know what the hell you're talking about."

"Maybe I don't," Jennifer said, "but you do. Look at Roger, Steph! He's HIV-positive because he did what you're doing now! Do you want to end up like him, sick and slowly dying for the rest of your short life? Or are you planning on just overdosing and killing yourself and getting it over with right away?"

Stephanie stood up swiftly and punched Jennifer in the jaw. Jennifer simply just took the blow. "Get out!" Stephanie yelled. "You can't tell me how to live my life, Jen. You're not my mom or dad. You can't tell me what to do! I like my smack. I feel good when I'm on it, like nothing's wrong. When I'm on it, I don't have a care in the world."

"That's because you can't care about anything in the world when you're on the smack, Steph," Jennifer said. "It makes you numb to the world. You don't feel pain, hurt, hate, or happiness, Steph. You can't feel love, either, and I know you hate that the most, especially after your mom and dad left you to travel the world, like you didn't exist. That's why you're doing this, isn't it; to make the pain of that loss go away?" Jennifer looked at Stephanie one last time before she stepped out the door, so Stephanie wouldn't hit her again. "This isn't the real you, Steph. I know it's not. And I promise you, with every breath I take, I'm going to help you get over this."

"Whatever," Stephanie said, and then she slammed the door in Jennifer's face.

Jennifer stood there for a moment, deep in thought. She didn't really know what she could do to help Stephanie. She had thought that would have worked, but it hadn't. So what was she going to do? Stephanie obviously wasn't ready to listen, and Jennifer couldn't force her to. She'd tried that already, too, and it had failed dismally.

_Tell Roger, _a little voice said in her head. _He's a former addict and Stephanie's idol. He'll know what to do. _

So Jennifer checked on Stephanie one last time. Glancing in the front window, she saw Stephanie had collapsed back onto the couch, so she began to make her way to the loft, hoping she was doing the right thing.

* * *

OK, so I got a chapter uploaded! HUGE thanks goes out to Tina101 for helping me with that! You rock, chica! Don't forget to review!

Until next time, lots of love,

Renthead07


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

* * *

Within minutes, Jennifer found herself in front of the loft. She hoped that Roger would forgive her for waking him at such an hour. "Roger?" she yelled up at the balcony.

Jennifer breathed a sigh of relief, a few minutes later, when Roger, and a guy she didn't know, came to the balcony. "Jen," Roger said sleepily, "what's wrong? It's the middle of the night."

"I'm sorry to bother you like this, Roger. It's Stephanie," Jennifer said. "I need to talk to you about her. It's urgent."

"Hang on," Roger said, instantly revitalized, and he went back inside the loft. Coming back out, he threw down the key. "Let yourself in."

Jennifer caught the key and let herself in. She rushed upstairs and slid open the door. Roger came forward and hugged Jennifer. "Jen," he said, "is everything OK? Come sit down and tell us everything."

Jennifer nodded and Roger indicated to a chair in the main living area. She sat down and put her head in her hands, as the two men sat down in front of her. They would have sat down on the couch, but it was occupied by an enormous pile of blankets. Roger and the man Jennifer didn't know were in just their boxers, but the man Jennifer didn't know had a white T-shirt on.

"Tell us, Jen," Roger said, as he gave her a glass of water.

Jennifer accepted the water gratefully. "Thanks," she said. She looked at him. "Roger, Stephanie's a junkie."

Roger cringed. "Oh God…" he said. "How long has she been using?"

"Well, she talked about— yelled about, rather— her parents leaving her to travel and stuff, so I'm guessing she's been using since she moved out of my house, like I told you before… so, at least three years." The seriousness of that sentence hit Jennifer like a punch in the gut, and she started to choke up.

"Oh, Jen…" Roger said sadly, and he took her into his arms. "It'll be OK. We'll get her to quit. I don't know how, but we will; rehab or something, right?" Roger looked at Mark, who nodded. "Oh yeah… Jen, this is albino pumpkin head mo fo punk is my best friend, Mark Cohen."

"As in, _the _Mark Cohen?" Jennifer asked. "The filmmaker I like so much? Wow, it's nice to meet you. I love your movie about the Bohemians and AIDS and stuff."

"Thanks," Mark said, smiling at her. "I'm glad you like it. But never mind me; we need to concentrate on Stephanie. What is she using?"

"Smack," Jennifer replied glumly. Roger groaned.

"Oh man…" he said, and he let go of her and stood up. "This is more than vaguely familiar." He began to pace around nervously. "How frequently is she shooting up?"

"Once a day," Jennifer said, "maybe twice; she's drinking, too. Two days ago, I found her passed out in an alleyway. Tonight, I caught her buying smack from a dealer not fifty feet from this place. I took her back to my house and destroyed the smack."

"Good," Roger said, "but if you left her alone now, she might be out getting more. I know how this goes, obviously." He smiled grimly.

"Oh no," Jennifer groaned, and she stood up, a worried look on her face. "I never should have left her alone!" She strode toward the door. "I have to go back for her. She's dangerous by herself now."

"I'm going with you," Roger said, standing up as well. "Maybe if I talk to her, she'll listen."

"Yeah… maybe," Jennifer said, but she still hoped. "She hasn't listened to me yet."

"Mark, stay here, in case Steph shows up here, OK?" Roger asked. Mark nodded. "And wake up Collins, too"— he indicated to the large lump of blankets on the couch, which Mark shook, and Collins sat up groggily— "and have him wait up with you. Collins, man, Mark will explain everything once you've had coffee, OK?"

"Mm, OK, man," Collins said, smiling sleepily up at Roger. "Where are you off to at three in the morning?"

"Stephanie Bradford's place," Roger said. "Like I said, Mark will explain. We have to go. We'll be back as soon as possible."

Mark gave Jennifer a hug. "It'll be OK, Jen," he said. "Stephanie isn't the first junkie we Bohos have had to deal with. Remember, Roger was one once, too. He'll be able to help. It's familiar territory for him."

"Thanks, Mark," Jennifer said, smiling at him.

"Let's go, Jen," Roger said, and they walked out into the moonlight.

* * *

Jennifer looked into the front window of her house before she and Roger went up to the front door. "Oh, thank God," Jennifer breathed, "she's still there. She must have drunk a lot tonight."

"OK, her still being there is progress," Roger said. "Can we go in?"

"Yeah, hang on," Jennifer said, and she got the key from under the porch stairs. She checked her watch. " Four A.M. Damn, I was at your place for a whole hour, and I didn't even know it? This is crazy." She unlocked the door and put the key back in its place. "Let's go. But be quiet."

"You locked her in?" Roger asked.

"I've had to," Jennifer said quietly. "That's how wild she is. When she's drunk, she can't figure out how to get out of here, even though it's just simply opening the door and walking out."

Roger nodded. "Wow," he said, "that is crazy… in a bad way."

"Yeah," Jennifer said, and she sat down in a chair across from Stephanie. Roger did the same. "I might have woken my parents up while I was chewing her out earlier, but I don't know." She looked at Stephanie's still form. "Stephanie, wake up. Come on, Steph, I know you can hear me. Wake up."

A few seconds later, Stephanie stirred and stretched. Roger and Jennifer both saw the growing track marks on her arm. They looked at each other worriedly.

"Hm? Oh… hi, Roger. Hi, Jen," Stephanie slurred, obviously still drunk. "What are you doing up at this hour? Have you been out all night? What time is it?"

"Steph…" Jennifer said irritably. But she relaxed when Roger touched her arm. His touch sent chills down her spine. He was warning her silently not to get angry with Stephanie. Anger wouldn't help anything and would only upset Stephanie, and then things would really get complicated.

Jennifer heaved a deep breath and relaxed. Roger squeezed her hand encouragingly. "OK, Steph," she began, "Roger and I are here because we need to talk to you about something. It's 4:15 A.M. and we haven't been out all night. I was up earlier because I saw you'd snuck out again to go shoot up. I took you home and went to Roger for help."

"Oh, OK," Stephanie said, and she patted Jennifer on the arm. "Well, good for you, Jen. Can I go back to sleep now?" Stephanie looked up at Jennifer and smiled drunkenly.

"No, you can't," Jennifer said firmly, and she pulled Stephanie back up before she could keel over. "Steph, the smack, the drinking, it all has to stop. And it's going to. Roger and I are going to help you. You know all those other fan girls, how many of them would kill to be here right now, with Roger, strung up and hung over or not?"

"Yeah, I know," Stephanie said, and she smiled. "I'm lucky."

"That's right, Stephie," Jennifer said, and she smiled for real, for the first time in days. "You're lucky."

* * *

Until next time, lots of love,

Renthead07


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

* * *

"Stephanie, don't make me kill you, girlfriend," Jennifer said firmly, as she and Roger grabbed Stephanie around the waist.

"But Jen, I want it!" Stephanie said, as she struggled in their grasp to get to her beloved needle and smack. "Just one! Just one and then I'll be fine! Honest!"

"_No_, Stephanie," Jennifer demanded. "You can't shoot up anymore. You're on withdrawal, remember? That means no smack."

"No shit, I am," Stephanie snapped. "But I want it, Jen! Screw withdrawal! It hurts so bad…" She clutched her stomach in pain, as she started to cry.

Roger picked her up and carried her over to the couch. She yelled and screamed and hit him on the side of the head as he set her on the couch, but he didn't give in to her. He held her and rocked her, as tears of fury and pain streamed down her face. Finally, after several long minutes of furious struggle, she relaxed and collapsed against him, her chest heaving and her body shook with sobs.

"There," Roger said, holding her close, "it's over, Steph. You're OK, sweetie, calm down."

"How long is this gonna keep happening to me, Roger?" Stephanie asked tearfully.

"A couple more weeks, maybe a couple months," Roger said. "It varies with every addict. We just have to wait until the stuff gets out of your system, Steph. Then you'll get used to being without it and will start your journey of being clean. It feels good, trust me," Roger said, smiling down at her.

"I do trust you, Roger," Stephanie said, looking up wearily at him. She laid her head against his chest and gradually fell into an exhausted sleep.

* * *

"I would like to propose a toast," Collins said, standing up with his champagne glass. "Congratulations to Stephanie, our dear friend, on her one-year anniversary of being clean." He looked at her, standing next to Roger, smiling. "Congratulations, Baby girl. We are all so proud that you made it through."

"Thanks, Collins," Stephanie said, smiling up at him as he hugged her. "I'm happy Jen and Roger gave me the strength and support to do it. Without them, I probably wouldn't have made it to my 20th birthday." She held up her glass of apple juice. "To Jennifer and Roger, two of the best friends a girl could have."

"Amen to that," Collins said, and they lifted their glasses and clinked them together.

Roger took Stephanie's hand, an hour or so into the party, and he led her away from the Bohemians. They stood still for a few moments, gazing into each other's eyes. Then Roger swallowed nervously past the lump in his throat and spoke.

"Steph," he said, biting his lip, "I… I have something to tell you."

Stephanie looked up at him and he saw the old, familiar steely glint in her blue eyes, something he hadn't seen since before the concert and the accident so long ago. "What?" she asked. She nudged him playfully. "Don't be so nervous, Baby."

Roger looked down at her, surprised. "What did you just call me?" he asked.

"I called you 'Baby'. Is that OK?"

"Well, yeah, but usually, that would mean…" His voice trailed off.

"That I love you, too?" Stephanie suggested. She smiled seductively. "Yeah, it would. I do love you, Roger. I, your biggest fan, love you, the man who saved my life. You saw me when I was invisible, Roger, and that's the most important thing that could ever happen to me."

Roger looked down at her. "Wow," he said, "that was deep. And you know what?"

"What?" Stephanie asked, looking up at him and grinning as she moved closer to him.

"I love you, too, Stephanie Bradford. I'm so glad I saved you and saw you when you were invisible."

"So am I, Baby," Stephanie replied, and she leaned in to kiss him.

* * *

Alas, after all the stress of not being able to update, and finally finding a way around that (thanks, Tina101!) I've hit a wall. Any ideas on where I should take the story from here? I really do want to continue it, but I'm not sure how. Please leave any ideas in reviews.

Until next time, lots of love,

Renthead07


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

* * *

"Roger, you have to come get me," Stephanie cried into the phone, a few weeks later.

Roger, who was at a rehearsal, clutched the phone nervously. "Steph, Baby, what's wrong?" he asked. "Tell me, Baby."

"Just come get me, OK? We need to go somewhere to talk," Stephanie sobbed. "Please, Roger, just come, OK? I need you."

"OK, Baby, I'll come," Roger said, as he gave Charlie, DJ, and Tommy a worried look. "You're at home, right? OK, stay there. I'll be over in ten minutes." Roger sucked in a breath. "Stephanie, I love you."

"I love you, too, Roger," Stephanie said, and Roger heard her break down just before she hung up.

"Guys, I have to go," Roger said to the guys. "Stephanie's in trouble."

"What? Uh oh… is she OK?" Charlie asked.

"No," Roger said, shaking his head. "I have to go to her. She's a mess. I'm sorry, guys; I know this rehearsal was important…"

"Your girl is more important, Rog," DJ said. "Go to her. We'll just be done for the day. We almost were, anyway."

"Thanks, DJ," Roger said, and he left quickly.

* * *

"Stephanie, I'm here," Roger said, as he walked through the door. "Baby, where are you?"

"In the bathroom, Roger," Stephanie said, and Roger went in to her. He kneeled beside her and wrapped his arms around her.

"Baby, what is it?" Roger asked, as she leaned heavily onto him for support. "Are you pregnant or something, and you don't wanna be?"

Stephanie looked up at him through red, swollen eyes. The blue had lost its flare in her blind panic. "No," she said, "it's worse."

Roger felt his gut tighten with panic. "It's that bad?" he asked.

"Yes," Stephanie said, and she handed him a piece of paper, her hands shaking badly. Roger read it and looked at her, horrified.

"Oh God…" he said. "You— you're…?"

The paper read:

_Bradford, Stephanie_

_Age: 19_

_Results: HIV Positive_

"Yes, Roger," she sobbed into his chest, "I'm positive."

Roger was stunned. "Baby, I'm so sorry. You don't deserve this. What can I do to help?"

"Just hold me, Roger," Stephanie said. "When you do, I feel invincible, like nothing is wrong."

"Nothing _should_ be wrong, Baby," Roger said. "But we'll get through this. They have good medication for it now. We'll get it for you tomorrow, OK?"

"OK," Stephanie said, snuggling her head close to his chest. "Roger, am I gonna die from this?"

Roger pulled away slightly from her and looked down at her, alarmed. "No, Baby," he said, "you're not gonna die from this." He pulled her close to him again. "I promise you that."

* * *

A little while later, Roger left Stephanie's house and stormed into the loft, startling Mark, who was fiddling with his camera. He set it down on the coffee table and looked up at Roger. "Roger," he said, standing up and going, over to him, "what's wrong?"

"Stephanie's positive, Mark," Roger said, as he started to sob. "She's positive. How could this happen to her? Why her?"

Mark pulled Roger over to the couch. Roger sank down onto it and put his head in his hands. "I'm so sorry, Roger," Mark said, hugging him. "She doesn't deserve this; neither did you."

"But it happened, Mark," Roger said. "I tried to protect her from it and I failed. What's Jen gonna say when she finds out? She's gonna hate me; or worse, she's gonna hate Stephanie."

"She's not gonna hate you or Stephanie," Mark said firmly. "Sure, she'll be upset, but she won't hate either of you. She can't; she helped you help Stephanie get clean in the first place. At least you saved Stephanie from that." Mark rocked Roger back and forth. "Your biggest fan owes her life to you." Mark looked up at Roger. "It'll be OK, Roger, you'll see."

Roger nodded, his body shaking, as Mark fought back his own tears.

* * *

A few hours later, Stephanie had calmed down and regained her composure enough to call Jennifer. She knew she had to talk to Jen; Jen was her best friend, who had helped her through so much— her parents leaving her so long ago to travel; Jen's parents had basically raised Stephanie as their second daughter; the pain of her parents leaving her, the drinking, the smack, her withdrawal…

Stephanie picked up the phone and dialed Jennifer's house. "Jen, you need to come over… I need to talk to you… Yes, something's wrong… It's bad… Just please come, OK?"

Jennifer showed up not ten minutes later. "Steph?" she asked nervously, slowly walking up to Stephanie.

"Jen," Stephanie said tearfully, pulling her legs up to her chest, "I'm positive."

Jennifer's hand flew to her mouth. "Oh my God, Stephie," she said, beginning to cry. "I'm so sorry. You don't deserve this, after what you've gone through."

"I wouldn't have gone through it, if it hadn't been for you and Roger," Stephanie said. "You and Roger saved my life. If it weren't for you, I'd still be out there, wasting my fortune on something that was killing me. Now this is killing me."

Jennifer wrapped her arms around Stephanie; Stephanie did the same. They cried together for several long minutes. When they had both calmed down, Jennifer looked at Stephanie.

"I remember… when you were… going through withdrawal, Steph… When I first found out you were a junkie… I said to you… that maybe you should…" Her voice choked up as she started to cry again. "That you should OD and kill yourself and get it over with." Jennifer looked down, not able to meet Stephanie's gaze, she was so ashamed. "I totally regret that now."

"Jen," Stephanie sad, lifting Jennifer's chin with her thumb, "it's OK. I understand where you were coming from. Forget regret, or life is yours to miss, remember? So don't worry about it. I wasn't taking care of myself back then, being on the smack. But I'm off the smack now, and positive because of it. You and Roger helped me change so much. But you can't take care of me forever. I'm 20 years old; I should be living on my own, thinking about going to college and getting married and all that stuff."

Jennifer saw Stephanie glance at Roger when he wasn't looking, and she grinned.

"And I know you are probably thinking that, if I move out again, or live by myself, I'll get addicted again. But Roger will take care of me, so you don't have to worry, Jen." Stephanie smiled at Jennifer.

Jennifer smiled back and nodded. "I know," she said. "I'm just used to having you all to myself, ever since first grade, I guess."

"And you'll still have me," Stephanie said, hugging Jennifer close, "even if I'm not always there. I won't stop needing our friendship, just because I'm with Roger."

Jennifer nodded. "I know," she said, wiping the tears off her face. "I'll miss you, though; it won't be like old times."

"No, it won't be," Stephanie said. "Everything's going to change now."

She smiled at Jennifer and the two best friends cried together, with their idol's arms wrapped around them.

* * *

Don't forget to review!

Until next time, lots of love,

Renthead07


	7. Chapter 7

Shorter than usual, I know. But hopefully satisfactory until I get more ideas. ANY ideas you readers have, leave them in reviews, for what I can do from here! Thanks!

**Chapter 7**

* * *

Stephanie smiled happily as she got lost in Roger's Kryptonite-green eyes. She didn't realize he was speaking to her until he nudged her lightly.

"Stephanie, come back to Earth, sweetie," he joked. "So, did you enjoy yourself today?" he asked, once he saw he had her attention.

"Huh?" Stephanie looked up at him. "Oh. Yeah, today was perfect," she said.

And it had been. The day had started with Roger bringing her breakfast in bed, surprising her with his culinary skills. Then they had gone to an amusement park and ridden the rides until they could not ride anymore. Roger had won Stephanie a teddy bear from nearly every Midway game. Now they were enjoying dinner in the most romantic and extravagant restaurant, right on the beach, as the sun set slowly around them.

"I love you, Stephanie," Roger said, putting his chin in his hands and smiling up at her.

"I love you, too, Roger," Stephanie said, and she leaned over the table and kissed him.

Roger paid for the check and then they went to the car. Roger struggled for a moment to stuff the huge teddy bear he had been carrying around all day into the car.

"There," he said, after he succeeded in putting it in the car. "I'm glad we don't have to carry Mr. Teddy down to the beach. Why did we carry him everywhere today, Baby?" Roger added to Stephanie curiously, looking down at her.

"Because somebody might steal Mr. Teddy," she replied matter-of-factly, as though it were obvious.

Roger chuckled. "Now, who would do that?" he asked. "That's like taking candy from a baby— which is pretty easy, by the way."

Stephanie whacked him playfully. Roger put his arm around her waist and led her away. "Where are we going?" Stephanie asked him, surprised but curious.

"Come on, Steph," Roger said. "What kind of boyfriend would I be if I was to take you all over the place today, and not let you walk on the beach barefoot at the end? Did you really think today would end with dinner?" He smiled down at her.

Stephanie squealed happily and jumped into his arms. Roger staggered for a second, but didn't fall. He hugged Stephanie and kissed her on the cheek before setting her down. They walked down to the beach and held each other close, talking and laughing about everything. Then Stephanie grinned at him mischievously and took off running.

Roger shook his head and chased after her. A moment later, he caught up and grabbed her hand to persuade her to let him stop and catch his breath. He gently pulled her around and they went crashing onto the sand, laughing joyfully. Roger lay close to her and kissed her tenderly. They lay together for a while, and then Stephanie felt a feeling of restlessness come over her. She got to her feet and pulled Roger to his. Then she walked backward, taking him with her.

"Baby, where are we going?" Roger asked her, confused.

"To the water," Stephanie said. When she saw he was hesitant, she teased in a sing-song voice, "Come on, it won't hurt you."

"OK, all right, we can go," Roger said, giving in to her, and he chased her down to the water again. They ran around in the waves, splashing each other playfully, and then they walked back to the car. They didn't even notice the clouds that had brewed above their heads until it started to pour.

Roger pulled Stephanie close to him for a kiss and she grinned. Roger looked down at her after they'd parted.

"What?" he asked curiously.

"Well, I just got that passionate kiss in the rain every girl dreams of, didn't I?" Stephanie said.

"Oh, you want passionate?" Roger asked, smiling at her, and he kissed her more deeply.

Stephanie looked surprised. "Wow," she said, "that was good." She smiled up at him. "Thanks. I love you."

"I love you, too," Roger said, and he raced to the driver's side door. "Is today still the best day of your life?" he yelled over the thunder.

"Absolutely," Stephanie said loudly, grinning, and together, they went home.

* * *

Until next time, lots of love,

Renthead07


	8. Chapter 8

Rosablasifann08, you might recognize some of this chapter taken from "Stolen Innocence", my fourth (and best, haha) Strong Medicine story. Oh, and the restaurant name is made up (thanks to my beloved stepsister, Lori, for that!) so I own it (haha!)

**Chapter 8**

* * *

The phone rang the next day, but Stephanie had her hands full. However, she knew Roger was still in the shower, so she checked the Caller ID and answered, smiling. "Hey, Jen," she said. "How are you?"

"I'm great, and you?" Jennifer asked.

"I'm excellent," Stephanie said. "Say, guess where you and I are going this morning?"

"Where?" Jennifer asked.

"A luxury beauty spa," Stephanie said. "It's all-day and our session starts in half an hour, so I'll pick you up in ten minutes, OK?"

"OK," Jennifer said, and they hung up.

* * *

"So, was this Roger's idea?" Jennifer asked, from where she was lying on the spa bed next to Stephanie's.

"Yeah," Stephanie said, smiling. "He said he wanted me to have a day of 'luxurious relaxation and serenity.'" She looked at Jennifer and grinned. "Guess where he's taking me for dinner tonight?"

Stephanie grinned broadly for a moment, as Jennifer thought, and then it hit her. "Oh my God," she said, lifting her head, "Carter's Bistro?" She laid her head back down, her mouth falling open.

"And he told me to prepare for the most memorable night of our entire lives."

"Wow, I just got jealous. You know what that means, don't you?"

"No, what?" Stephanie asked curiously.

"Steph, he's gonna propose!"

"No," Stephanie said, shaking her head, but she was grinning. "No. No… Stop it, no… Really?"

"Mhm," Jennifer said, nodding. "I mean, come on, do the math: he sends you all day to a beauty spa and reserves a spot at the most extravagant and expensive restaurant in town. Hello… You know, I never thought I'd say this, but Roger is right, this is your big night. Relax and enjoy it!"

"OK," Stephanie said, and she closed her eyes to enjoy the rest of her massage.

* * *

Later that evening, Stephanie met Roger at her house. He was waiting for her on the porch, leaning casually against the post. He looked like a movie star, with the moonlight gleaming off his golden locks. Stephanie smiled, seeing his Kryptonite-green eyes shining.

"Are you ready, Baby?" he asked. He swallowed and looked down at her. "Wow," he said breathlessly, "you look… wow…" He let out the breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding.

Stephanie smiled. She was wearing a brand-new, green, backless dress. She had a necklace of pearls on her neck and a wristlet of diamonds on her left hand. Her long blonde hair trailed down her back, today curled just right and bouncing with life. Her blue eyes were darker than normal, contrasting with her dress.

"You like it?" Stephanie asked, spinning around slowly for him.

"Absolutely," Roger said, smiling down at her.

"You look pretty snazzy yourself."

"Thanks." Roger took her by the hand and they drove to the bistro.

"You know," Roger said, looking at her as they waited for their meal, "I was going to wait until after the meal… but I think this is gonna burst out of me like an opera or something if I don't do it now."

He walked over to Stephanie and got down on one knee. "Oh God…" Stephanie said, starting to choke up. She put a hand on her forehead. "OK. This is it, isn't it?" She looked down at him. "I don't know… I don't know if I'm ready for this… I want to say I'm not ready for this… I mean, I don't think I would have the…" She looked at him apologetically. "I'm sorry. Go on."

"Well, there comes a time in a man's life when he finally realizes that he should live his life without fearing risks and taking big steps. That realization happened to me when I discovered I had AIDS when April died. But it became even more real when I met you, Stephanie. Everything we've gone through, it's changed me as well. I don't know how long it will be before this disease takes me, but I do live for today. And I hope that you can live that today, from now on, by my side."

Roger looked at Stephanie and reached into his back pocket. Stephanie covered her mouth with her hands as Roger opened it, revealing a small, glimmering ring. It was small with diamond chips, but it was all he could afford. "Stephanie Christine Bradford, will you marry me?"

Stephanie's face split into a wide smile, and she cried freely. "Yes, Roger," she said, as she surrendered to his loving grasp, "I will marry you."

Roger beamed at her and kissed her tenderly.

* * *

"So what date are you hoping for, Baby?" Roger asked, coming into the kitchen, where Stephanie was looking over wedding preparations, and he wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed her cheek.

"I'm hoping for May 9th," Stephanie said.

"Any particular reason why?"

"Nope; I just like it." Stephanie looked up at him and smiled.

"OK, whatever you like, I like, Baby," Roger said. "You know that, right?"

"Right, my rock star," Stephanie said, grinning and she kissed him. Then her face darkened as a thought occurred to her.

"What is it, Baby?" Roger asked.

Stephanie bit her lip nervously. "I'm just thinking… our wedding won't be… normal." She looked up at him.

"What do you mean, Baby?" Roger asked. "Of course our wedding will be normal. If you're talking about the Bohos..." he began, before she cut him off.

"No," Stephanie said, shaking her head, "it's not them. It's just that… my mom and dad won't be there." She looked up at him with tears in her eyes.

"Oh, Baby…" Roger said, pulling her close to him. "I hate to ask, but do you really want them there, after all the pain and grief they've caused you, leaving like that when you were so young?"

"Well… no. But they still were my parents. Don't they at least deserve to know that I'm getting married to my idol? My Prince Charming?"

Roger smiled. "That's up to you, Baby," he said. "Whatever you choose, I'll go with it."

Stephanie looked up at him. "You love being my Robin Hood, don't you?" she asked, smiling at him.

"Why, yes, I do, Maid Marian," Roger said, and he leaned down to kiss her. "Now what do you say, I swing you away on my rope to our bedroom, huh?"

"Which one?" Stephanie asked, grinning, but she surrendered to his touch nevertheless and they went into the bedroom to make love.

* * *

Don't forget to review. There will be more as soon as I get ideas! Send them on in reviews, whatever you got!

Until next time, lots of love,

Renthead07


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

* * *

On May 9th, Stephanie woke up and listened to the soft snoring of her idol sleeping peacefully beside her. She smiled and draped her arm over his chest lovingly, but he didn't wake. So instead, she leaned over and planted a luscious kiss on his soft lips. Roger groaned.

"Mm, have mercy…" he murmured, and he grinned and opened his eyes.

Stephanie grinned. "Good morning," she said. "How did you sleep?"

"Really well," Roger said, propping himself up onto his elbow, and looking down at her. "I never realized before how uncomfortable my bed was."

"Yeah, well, that's what changes when you marry a millionaire," Stephanie said, and then she regretted it. "Oh man…" she groaned, and she sank face-first into her pillow. "I can't _believe _I just said that…"

"Don't worry about it, Baby," Roger said. "I'm not marrying my biggest fan for her money." He ticked reasons off his fingers. "I'm marrying her for her good looks and her kisses and her good…"

"OK, now I need coffee," Stephanie said quickly, knowing perfectly well what he was about to say, and she leapt out of bed and pulled on her bathrobe. Roger chased her around the room and caught up to her quickly. He cornered her and picked her up and carried her downstairs to the kitchen, Stephanie laughing gleefully the whole time.

"Ah, Roger!" she squealed, as they entered the kitchen.

Roger set her in a chair at the table and went and turned the coffee on, pouring in beans and putting in a filter. "The wedding is at 11, right?" he asked.

"Right," Stephanie said. "I am really glad we got our pictures done last week."

"So am I, Baby," Roger said, grinning mischievously at her. "It frees up our afternoon for making love." He leaned down and kissed her passionately.

"You guys had better quit that, until at least the wedding," said a voice, "or you'll be so sick of each other by day two…"

"Morning, Mark," Roger said, turning around to face him. "How are you?"

"Slightly disgusted, but otherwise fine," Mark said. "I'm kidding, Steph," he added, smiling at her and ducking a punch from Roger. "Come on, we should meet Mo and Jo at the church. Can Collins and I carpool with you two, though? We don't have a car, like Jo does."

"Sure," Stephanie said, "you can do that, Mark. Come on, let's go."

Stephanie smiled at them, went up with Roger to get dressed, and then they left.

* * *

Stephanie stood at the back of the church, with Maureen, Joanne, and Jennifer, waiting for their cue to walk down the aisle. Stephanie looked up at Collins, next to her, and she smiled at him.

"Thank you for doing this, Collins," she said. "You are like a father to me, especially since mine can't be here today."

"I'm honored that you let me do it, Baby girl," Collins said, as he hugged her. He wiped a stray tear of joy off her cheek. "You'd better quit crying, Baby girl, or you're gonna mess up your makeup," he teased gently.

"I know," Stephanie said, and she looked out at the guests sitting in the pews, waiting for them, and received a shock.

Collins saw the color drain from her cheeks and he steadied her as she swayed slightly. "Baby girl, what is it?" he asked.

"Collins," she said, looking at him with tears in her eyes, her body shaking, "my parents are out there."

* * *

I know, I know, you hate me for leaving it there! But I had to! Keep reading to find out what happens next! I promise Roger and Stephanie WILL be together! And something will happen to Mark, too— but a good something, I swear! Don't forget to review!

Until next time, lots of love,

Renthead07


	10. Chapter 10

Aw, I didn't realize it was so short. Sorry! Well, anyway, here's chapter 10! I will update ASAP!

**Chapter 10**

* * *

Collins was stunned. "What? They are?" he asked.

Stephanie nodded shakily. "Yeah," she said, "second row. See for yourself."

Collins looked out into the crowd. "What do they look like?" he asked her.

"My mom has red hair and she's wearing a green dress," Stephanie said. "My dad's sitting next to her, black hair and wearing a grey suit."

"How'd you get your blonde hair, Baby girl?" Collins asked, trying to lighten the seriousness of the situation. Stephanie glared at him. "I'm kidding, Baby girl. Do you want me to get one of the Boho boys to escort them out?"

"No, that's not possible," Stephanie said, shaking her head. "I'm about to walk down the aisle with you. I can't just cancel my wedding because they show up. I can only talk to them afterwards… or blow up at them or something…"

"Well, whatever you want to do, Baby girl," Collins said. He looked up as the wedding march began. "Uh oh, that's your cue…"

Stephanie looked up at him and managed a smile. "All right, well…" she said. "Let's do it."

Collins smiled down at her. "You're right, Baby girl," he said, "let's do it."

The whole way down the aisle, Stephanie couldn't stop thinking about her parents sitting not ten feet away from where she was walking. But then she looked up and saw Roger standing next to Mark and forgot all about her parents. The ceremony passed in a beautiful blur, and the next thing Stephanie knew, she was kissing Roger as her husband.

They walked down the aisle and outside and were greeted by several of Stephanie and Jennifer's old classmates; but other than that, Stephanie had only wanted the Bohemians to attend her wedding. Still furious about her parents being there, she stormed over to them and laid into them.

"How dare you," she snarled. "How dare you come here and try to re-enter my life like this, on my _wedding day_, for God's sake!"

"Stephanie," Mr. Bradford said, "we know you hurt you when we left… but Jennifer's mom… she knew all the pain you went through when we left… and we thought today would be a good day to, you know… reconcile with you… congratulate you on getting married and getting over your addiction to heroin… which we had no idea about, by the way." He looked down nervously at her.

"You have no right to be here," Stephanie snapped. "You're lucky I didn't get Collins to kick you out in the middle of the wedding. He would have, too; he did ask me if that was what I wanted."

"Baby, what's wrong?" Roger asked, coming over to her, seeing her upset, and wrapping his arms around her.

"Congratulations on marrying our daughter, Mr. Davis," Mrs. Bradford said, slightly fiercely. Roger's eyebrows shot up. "We really would have had no idea, if Mrs. Dawson hadn't contacted us and told us everything. Believe me, it was hard enough to catch up on 13 years of your life that we've missed, Stephanie, but to find out that you got addicted to heroin when you moved out of Jennifer's parents' place? That was a serious blow, Steph. How could you do that to yourself?"

"It was my escapism from the pain you caused me when you left me!" Stephanie yelled. "I was seven years old, a fucking first grader, for Christ's sake, Mom— oh my God, I cannot even call you that, it pisses me off too much! How was I supposed to take care of myself? Thank God for Jennifer's mom, she took me in like I was a second daughter! I thought I could take care of myself when I was 16 and I moved out, but I really fucked myself up, and I know that. And here you come, barging in on my life, telling me how to live it? No, absolutely not," Stephanie snarled. "I will not let you! Not today, not like this! Get out now!"

Roger, Collins, and Mark stood protectively by Stephanie, and Mr. and Mrs. Bradford glared at them and turned and walked away. "Guys," Stephanie said, tears finally falling from her eyes, as she broke down, "you'd better make sure those two are out of town and back in Europe, or wherever they were last, and out of my life by tomorrow morning, or I might do something drastic that I'll regret."

"We will, Baby," Roger said. "Let's just go home, OK? You need to rest and relax."

Stephanie swallowed and cried into his chest. "How could they do that to me, Roger? After all these years…"

"I know, Baby, I know," Roger said. "They had no right to. Don't worry; Mark and Collins and I will take care of it in the morning. You won't ever have to see them again, if that's what you want."

"That is what I want," Stephanie said, looking up at him through tear-stained eyes. "That's all that I want."

"Stephanie, I love you," Roger said firmly, lifting her chin so she looked at him.

"I love you, too, Roger," Stephanie said, and he leaned down to kiss her tenderly.

* * *

A bit over-the-top? I hope not. Let me know what you think! There will be more to come ASAP! Stephanie goes after Jennifer next!

Until next time, lots of love,

Renthead07


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

* * *

A couple hours later, Stephanie, Roger, Jennifer, and the Bohemians returned from the reception, and Roger picked Stephanie up before she went inside the house.

"What are you doing, Roger?" Stephanie asked, confused.

"Well, I have to carry my new bride over the threshold, don't I?" Roger asked, grinning at her, and he carried her inside.

"Oh yeah, I knew that," Stephanie said, shaking her head and smiling up at him. Then she noticed Jennifer and suddenly, an infuriating thought occurred to her. "How could you do this to me, Jennifer?" she demanded, glaring at her best friend.

"I didn't tell her, I swear," Jennifer said, with Mark by her side.

"Oh, come on. How am I supposed to believe that?"

"I didn't tell her, Steph, I swear," Jennifer said. "I guess, with the heroin and the withdrawal… and you getting clean… well, she kind of went overboard with it and she told me she sent out a private investigator to find your parents, and that's how they got here."

"Oh my God," Stephanie said angrily, "this just keeps getting more and more screwed up. What other lies have you been telling through your teeth, huh, Jen?"

"Stephanie, we know how happy you are with Roger," Mark said, defending Jennifer. "Why would we try and change that? You've known Jennifer for years; is bringing the two people you hate the most into your life something she really would do?"

Stephanie looked up at Mark. "I don't know," she said. "Honestly, right now, I can't tell. I'm reserving my judgment." She looked at Jennifer. "Just go." She turned to go walk into the kitchen.

"But Steph…" Jennifer began, before Stephanie cut her off.

"I said go, Jennifer!" Stephanie said firmly, before turning her back on the two of them. Jennifer, respecting her friend's wishes, turned and walked out of the house, tears streaming down her face.

"I can't believe she would think I would bring her parents back into her life like that," Jennifer said, crying into Mark's shoulder as they walked outside.

"I know," Mark said, stroking her hair. "But just give her a while to think it over, Jen. She's really upset right now, and rightly so." Mark shook his head. "I know you didn't do this, but your mom did. There's nothing you can do about that, though; what's done is done. But after all those years of your mom caring for Stephanie, like Steph was her own daughter, well…" He gave her an uncomfortable look.

"Why would my mom do that, Mark?" Jennifer asked, looking up at him. "She always loved Stephanie, like she did me."

"Well, maybe the fortune had something to do with it?" Mark suggested.

Jennifer glared at him. "My mom has _never_ wanted Stephanie's money," she said firmly. "Not one cent of it."

Mark shrugged. "Then I don't know what to tell you, Jen," he said, "except to come back later, when Stephanie's had a while to settle down and be with Roger. After all, Stephanie's parents aside, they did just get married."

"I haven't even gotten a chance to congratulate her yet," Jennifer said, looking up into his crystal blue eyes.

"That'll come," Mark said, smiling at her. "Just give it a chance to." A feeling of restlessness came over him. "Come on, let's go somewhere, OK? Just the two of us; it'll be fun, and it'll get your mind off Stephanie and Roger."

He began to walk away, but Jennifer took his hand and stopped him. "Mark, wait," she said. She looked up at him. "Thank you… for always being there for Stephanie and I… you and Roger both… whether Stephanie admits it or not, she does appreciate it."

"That's what I'm for, Jen," Mark said, and he leaned down to kiss her.

"What was that for?" Jennifer asked, surprised, after they had parted.

"I've been wanting to do that since I first met you," Mark admitted. "I just…"

"Haven't been able to get it out?" Jennifer suggested.

Mark smiled down at her. "Yeah," he said, breathing a sigh of relief. "As you probably know, I haven't got the best history with girls."

"Well, that's OK," Jennifer said, smiling up at him. "We can work on that. OK, now we could go somewhere," she added eagerly, grinning.

"OK," Mark said, and he took her hand and they walked away.

* * *

Stop the presses! I finally got Mark and Jen together! LOL. I've been wanting to do that for weeks, honestly, but I had to wait for the opportune moment; this just seemed to be it. I'm probably going to end this story in a couple chapters, but we'll see. Don't forget to review!

Until next time, lots of love,

Renthead07


	12. Chapter 12

Longer than usual, yay. I hope you like it. Don't forget to review.

**Chapter 12**

* * *

On May 12th, Roger woke up first and lay still next to Stephanie, listening to her breathing slowly. He loved watching her sleep. She always smiled when she slept, and in her own personal world of her dreams, she was at peace and looked like an angel.

A few minutes later, Stephanie awoke and stirred. She opened her eyes and looked up at him, and Roger's heart did flip-flops, as it always did when she looked at him.

"Morning, Baby," Roger said, looking down at her as he propped himself onto his elbow.

"Morning," Stephanie said, sitting up and giving him a kiss. "Did you sleep well?"

"I always do when you're with me," Roger said. "And hey, I thought of a new song while I was sleeping."

"Really, what is it called?" Stephanie asked.

"'Invincible'," Roger replied. "It goes something like this. I've only got the demo so far."

By the time he was finished singing it, Stephanie had tears brimming in her eyes. "That was beautiful, Roger," she said.

"Well, you're worth it," Roger said, leaning down and kissing her.

They got dressed and went down to the kitchen. Roger put the coffee on, so it would start brewing. Then he joined Stephanie at the table. He looked at her and raised the uncomfortable question he knew was on her mind.

"Are you gonna talk to Jen?" he asked.

Stephanie gave him a look. "What are you going to do if I don't?" she countered.

"I won't do anything. Stephanie, we've been through this," Roger said firmly. "She didn't do that to hurt you. She didn't have anything to do with it at all. You blamed the wrong person. It was her mom that contacted your parents, and you know it."

"How can I be sure, though?" Stephanie asked him, as he got up and brought over two cups of coffee. "She could be lying."

"Has she ever lied to you, in the entire, um, 13 years you've known her?" Roger asked pointedly, after thinking for a second.

Stephanie shook her head. "No."

"Well, then, what's stopping you? Look what she did for you, Steph; she saved you from your addiction to smack, along with me. You owe your life to her." He smiled down at her. "As long as you stay friends with her, repayment of that debt won't be so hard, I'm sure."

Stephanie blushed. Her former three-and-a-half-year-long addiction to heroin wasn't a part of her past she liked to relive. "Besides," he added, "I'm going to the loft to talk to Mark today, so Jen can join us."

Stephanie sighed and put her head in her hands. Roger stood up and walked over to her and took her into his arms. "OK," she said, "you win, Baby. I'll talk to her."

Roger smiled. "Good girl. Even if you two don't make up," he said, "I'll still love you."

"Me, too, Baby," Stephanie said, and they got their coats and left.

* * *

Roger and Stephanie walked into the loft and slid the door open. "Hold it," Roger said, flinging out his arm to stop her from walking. "Who's here?" he called.

"Roger?" Mark asked, and he came into view, Jennifer by his side. "Oh— hey, Stephanie," he added. "What are you two doing here?"

"We need to talk to you," Stephanie said, looking at Jennifer. She could sense hostility coming from her, even though Jennifer hadn't spoken yet.

"What about?" Mark asked.

"Jen, I'm sorry," Stephanie plunged on. "I know I hurt you by accusing you like that, and I'm sorry. Please forgive me. That's all I can ask for."

Jennifer was silent for several long moments, and then she sighed and nodded. "It's OK," she said. "I understand where you were coming from. It must have been quite the shock."

"Yeah," Stephanie sighed, and she walked toward Jennifer. "Friends?"

"Friends," Jennifer said, smiling, and she hugged Stephanie.

Stephanie looked at Roger during the hug. "What do you have to talk to Mark about?" she asked curiously. "Does it require privacy?"

"Nope," Roger said, "in fact, you two need to stay here. Mark, I've been thinking…"

"A dangerous pastime," Mark teased. He ducked as Roger sent a swipe toward his head.

"I've been thinking," Roger began again, "that I'm gonna move my stuff out of the loft and into Stephanie's manor."

Mark looked slightly surprised, but his face was devoid of anger or hurt. He seemed OK with it. "Oh," he said, "OK. Well, I'm glad you decided to tell me beforehand. When are you moving out?"

"Probably next weekend," Roger said. He noticed the look on Stephanie's face. "What is it, Baby?"

"It's just that…" Stephanie began. "You hadn't told me."

Roger raised his eyebrows. "I hadn't?" he asked. "Oh. Sorry. Things have just been so crazy. I thought I had. Well, then… is it OK with you if I move in with you?"

"You want to move in with me?" Stephanie asked him, looking up at him.

"Well, it makes sense, doesn't it? We could have done it months ago, when we were still dating; but now we're married, so it's OK. Plus, it makes better sense for me to move in with you, since you probably have too much stuff to fit in the loft, in case that's what Mark would have wanted." Roger smiled down at her.

"Yeah, it does make sense," Stephanie said. "I'm just trying to take it all in, that's all."

Roger smiled. "I love you, Stephanie," he said to her.

"I love you, too, Roger," Stephanie replied, and she held him tightly.

They all looked around as they heard someone crying. Collins was standing there, tear streaming down his face, and he was sobbing quietly.

"Collins, are you OK?" Stephanie asked.

"I'm fine," he assured her, wiping his eyes. "It's just… well, my Baby girl's moving out."

"Aw," Stephanie said, and she hugged him, "I'll still be around. I'm only a couple blocks away, like I always have been. You'll still have me around, Collins, don't worry."

Collins smiled. "I know," he said, and he chuckled. "I'm glad you're happy, Baby girl."

"Me, too, Collins," Stephanie said, smiling up at him.

"Wow, I haven't had this much feminine attention in years," Collins said, wiggling his eyebrows. "I like it."

Stephanie looked at Roger, Mark, and Jennifer and they suddenly burst out laughing. "Hey, did I just gain the affections of a gay man?" Stephanie joked. "I love you, too, Collins; you're my protector"— Roger feigned giving her a shocked look— "Roger, too, of course." Roger smiled. "You guys changed my life; I'm never gonna forget that. Unless, of course, you forget things when you die," she added thoughtfully, grinning.

"I know," Collins said, smiling down at her. "You know, I think this requires a celebration at the Life."

"Everything requires a party to you," Mark teased.

"No, that's Maureen," Collins said. "But I should at least toast to you two."

"All right, we'll go to the Life," Mark said. "Is that what you and Steph want, Rog? We'll call Mo and Jo, if it is."

"Sure, Mark," Roger said, after he'd seen Stephanie nod. "Let's go."

He put his arm around Stephanie, and they walked out of the loft.

* * *

Later, at the party, Roger noticed Stephanie was being rather quiet. "Are you OK, Baby?" he asked.

Stephanie looked up at him and he saw her eyes were bloodshot, and she looked very tired. "I'm OK," Stephanie said, "but I'd really like to go to bed."

"You want to go home?" Roger asked.

Stephanie nodded and leaned heavily against him for support. "Yes, please," she said, "I'd really like to sleep."

"OK, Baby, we'll go home," Roger said, and he went over to Mark and Jennifer. "Mark, Jen, we're gonna go home, OK? Stephanie's really tired and needs to rest."

"OK," Jennifer said, "as long as she's OK."

"She's probably fine," Roger assured them, "just tired."

"OK," Mark said. "Bye, you two."

Roger smiled and left with Stephanie.

* * *

"Baby, are you OK?" Roger asked, hearing Stephanie throwing up in the bathroom, a few days later. Stephanie didn't answer, so Roger knocked. "Steph, I'm coming in, OK?"

He opened the door, as Stephanie's retching stopped and he found her collapsed against the wall, breathing hard, and she was very pale. "Steph, Baby, are you OK?" he asked, sitting down on the floor behind her.

"No, Rog," she said, shaking her head and lying against him for support. "I feel like hell."

"Do you want to go in to Doctor Jermaine?" Roger asked, looking down at her with concern.

"Not if I don't have to," Stephanie said.

"Baby, I don't like this. You could be really sick."

"Rog, before I shot up heroin and went through withdrawal and got HIV, I was hardly ever sick. If my parents were here and cared at all, they would tell you that."

"Yeah, well, that's what HIV does to you, Baby," Roger said grimly. "It makes you susceptible to lots of stuff. If this is influenza…"

"Baby, stop it," Stephanie said sharply, looking up at him. "Now you're scaring me. If I go to Doctor Jermaine, will you quit worrying and scaring me?"

Roger nodded. "Yes," he said, "as long as the diagnosis is OK. Come on, let's get you dressed."

"Rog, I don't want to move," Stephanie groaned. "My strength is gone."

"All right, then I'll do this," Roger said, and he went into their bedroom and brought a quilt and wrapped her in it. Then he picked her up and carried her downstairs and out to the car.

* * *

"Well, Stephanie, I think I may have found the reason you're so tired and throwing up," Doctor Jermaine said, about an hour later. He turned the sonogram machine, so Roger and Stephanie could see it. "See for yourself."

"Oh my God," Stephanie said, seeing it at once. She sat up sharply, her mouth falling open. "We— we're—"

"We're what?" Roger asked, confused, as Doctor Jermaine smiled and nodded at Stephanie.

Stephanie whacked Roger lightly. "Look, silly," she said, pointing at a spot on the screen.

Then it hit Roger. "Oh!" he said. "You're pregnant, Baby? That's what this is all about?" He held her close to him and looked at Doctor Jermaine and breathed a sigh of relief. "And I thought I should be worried."

Stephanie scowled. "You will be scared to death when I'm big as a house, can't walk, and am eating everything in sight," she teased.

"A new problem with every trimester," he said. He grinned and kissed her. "I look forward to it."

"Stephanie's right, Roger," Doctor Jermaine said. "Besides both your HIV, this pregnancy looks perfectly normal. I don't think we have anything to worry about."

"OK," Roger said. "Anything else?"

"Stephanie, I'm going to give you these prenatal vitamins," Doctor Jermaine said. "Take them twice a day with your AZT, OK?"

"OK," Stephanie said, and after Roger wiped the gel off her belly, she got down from the table.

"Any more questions?" Doctor Jermaine asked.

Stephanie was at the door when one dawned on her. "Yeah," she said, "what are the chances of this baby being positive, since we both are?"

"Less than twenty percent," the doctor said. "You can schedule a planned C-section near the end of your pregnancy to minimize his or her chances of exposure to it, OK?"

"OK," Stephanie said. "Thank you, Doctor. See you in a couple months."

"Bye, Stephanie," the doctor said, and Stephanie and Roger left.

* * *

"OK, what's the emergency?" Collins asked, coming into the loft a little while later, with Maureen and Joanne behind him.

"We have an announcement to make," Stephanie said, grinning broadly at her fellow Bohemians.

"As do we," Mark said, holding Jennifer close to him, "but we'll wait. Go ahead."

"OK," Stephanie said, and she inhaled an eager breath. "I'm pregnant."

Jennifer's mouth fell open. "What? You are?" she asked, stunned. "You're kidding?"

"No, I'm not," Stephanie said, grinning. "Why do you ask?"

Jennifer grinned broadly, too. "Because I am, too," she said. "Mark and I found out yesterday."

"When are you due?" Stephanie asked.

Their eyes locked, and after a moment, as though it were destiny, they both knew, and said it at the same time. "October fifth."

Stephanie's mouth dropped and she engulfed Jennifer in a hug. "Wow," she said, "I think the only thing we've done differently is our doctors— and guys, of course— and the fact that I'm HIV-positive. You're so lucky, Jen."

"Steph, don't worry about that," Jennifer said, hugging her. "It'll be OK, you'll see."

"How do you know?" Stephanie asked, as Roger caressed her belly. "I'm so scared this little guy or girl is gonna be positive like us. That would be awful."

"Because you've got Mimi and Angel watching over you, Baby," Roger said. "I know they'll take care of you and the baby; Mark and Jennifer's, too."

Stephanie nodded and smiled as Roger pulled her close and leaned down to kiss her. "I know," she said.

* * *

Until next time, lots of love,

Renthead07


	13. Chapter 13

Sorry, Rosablasifann08, another one of my trademark tearjerkers.

**Chapter 13**

* * *

A few months later, at the end of June, Stephanie and Jennifer were out shopping for baby clothes with Maureen and Joanne. Jennifer reached down to get an article of clothing she'd dropped and a look of discomfort came over her face.

Stephanie came over to her, hands full of clothing and hangers. "Jen, are you OK?" she asked, seeing the look on Jennifer's face.

"I'm all right," she said, nodding and placing her hands on her stomach. "It's probably just indigestion. Can we pay for this stuff? I'm ready to go if you three are."

"OK, chica," Maureen said, "we need to get you home to rest, anyway. Stephanie, if you weren't such a normally energetic person, I'd say the same went for you." Stephanie grinned.

"Yeah," Jennifer said, "rest would be nice. I'm pretty tired."

"Come on, Jen," Joanne said, as she paid for the clothes and she, Maureen, and Stephanie walked out of the store together.

They were barely past the doors when it happened. Jennifer suddenly doubled over and grabbed her stomach in pain.

"Jen!" Stephanie exclaimed, as Jennifer fell to her knees. "Jen, what is it?"

"I think… I think I'm… losing the baby…" Jennifer gasped.

"_What_?" Stephanie said, and then she saw the blood coming from Jennifer. "Somebody help!" she yelled over her shoulder. "Mo, go call 911!"

Maureen didn't need to be told twice. As people started to gather around Jennifer, Stephanie, and Joanne, she took off running and went to go call 911. She returned, panting heavily, a few minutes later, with the EMT's right behind her.

"She was just walking around and she started bleeding," Stephanie said to them, terrified, as they lifted Jennifer onto the gurney. "She hasn't had one before, it's her first pregnancy. Please take care of her."

"We'll do our best," the EMT's said.

"Stephie, don't leave me," Jennifer said to Stephanie, giving her a terrified look. "Where's Mark? Get Mark, OK? I need him. I want to see him."

"I'll get him, I promise," Stephanie said, nodding feverishly at Jennifer. "You'll be OK, Jen. It'll be OK, I promise. We'll get through this."

Jennifer nodded before the EMT's whisked her away. "I know," she said. "Just please, get Mark, OK?"

"I will," Stephanie said, and then Jennifer was gone. Stephanie turned to Maureen and Joanne. "Come on," she said, "we've got to get Mark and Roger and tell them what happened."

Maureen and Joanne nodded. "Of course," Joanne said. "Let's go. We'll see her as soon as we can. She'll be OK, Steph."

Stephanie nodded. "I know," she said. "I just keep thinking back to what Roger said."

"What did he say?" Joanne asked.

"He said that… that Angel and Mimi are looking out for Jen and me… that they'd take care of our babies."

"They are. This isn't something they would do. You know how badly we all wished Mark would get a girl after Maureen— no offense, Maureen," Joanne added, "but you know what I mean— and then he met Jennifer and everything worked out. This can't be something Angel and Mimi did."

"I know," Stephanie said, "I know. But still, not Jennifer… she doesn't deserve this."

"Let's just do what she asked and get Mark for her, OK?" Joanne said. "That's all we can do for now."

Stephanie nodded and swallowed nervously. Then she followed Joanne and Maureen out of the mall.

* * *

"Jeez, did you three buy out Baby Gap?" Roger joked, when the three women walked into the loft with the bags of clothes.

"Roger, we don't have time to explain," Joanne said seriously, taking over the situation.

"Where's Jennifer?" Mark asked, his smile faltering at the looks on the three women's faces.

"That's what we need to tell you," Joanne said firmly. "Something happened to Jennifer at the mall— she started hemorrhaging out of nowhere, and the ambulance had to come get her."

"Oh my God," Mark exclaimed, "is she OK? Where is she?"

"They took her to Bellevue," Stephanie said. "We haven't seen her since. But she wanted to see you. Come on."

Mark nodded, a horrified look on his face, and he followed Stephanie, Roger, Collins, Joanne, and Maureen out of the loft.

* * *

Mark rushed into the emergency room, Stephanie, Roger, Collins, Joanne, and Maureen right behind him. Stephanie subconsciously put a hand to her stomach, thinking about the little Davis soul growing inside of her.

"I'm looking for Jennifer Cohen," Mark said to a nearby nurse. The nurse pointed to a nearby bay, and Mark immediately went over to it. "Jennifer, are you here?" he called.

"I'm here, Mark," she said, and Mark could hear her sobbing.

"I'm coming in, OK?" Mark said, and then he went in to her. Everyone listened to what they would say to one another. "Jen, what did the doctor say?"

"He said that I lost the baby, Mark," Jennifer said, starting to cry, and her voice trailed off to barely a whisper. "Our son… he's gone."

Mark closed his eyes in sudden, intense pain. His heart felt like it was being torn in two. Grief pressed against his chest like bands, making it hard to breathe. Tears welled up in his eyes and he held Jennifer in his arms. "We had a son?" he asked.

"Yeah," Jennifer sobbed, shaking badly. "The doctor on call told me. Remember, our appointment to find out the gender was next week? Mark, what are we gonna do?" she asked. "I mean, they said I can try to conceive again in about two months, but why did this happen? I'm so scared..." Her voice trailed off again.

"I know, Jen," Mark said, wrapping his arms around her. "But it'll be OK. We'll get through it." He let go of her and looked deep into her eyes.

"Don't leave me, Mark," Jennifer said, taking his hands in hers.

"I'm not gonna leave you, Jen; that I promise you," Mark said firmly, and they cried together.

* * *

I'll update ASAP. This weekend is gonna be killer, because I've got prom going on tomorrow and everything, LOL. My date's even driving 420 miles one way to go with me; I'm so spoiled, I know, LOL.

But the next chapter will be up as soon as I possibly can write it. Don't forget to review, and I hope I didn't stun anyone too badly in this chapter. It will get better, I promise.

Until next time, lots of love,

Renthead07


	14. Chapter 14

I have to give Renthead621 major credit for helping me finish this chapter. I appreciate it more than you know. It was longer than I anticipated, but that's OK! You know you're a genius, LOL. To all my readers, enjoy!

**Chapter 14**

* * *

"Roger, no," Stephanie cried out, as she slept next to Roger in their manor. It had been a week since Jennifer had lost her baby, and Stephanie had been having nightmares about her own baby ever since.

"Steph, wake up," Roger said quietly, shaking her gently. "It's just a dream, Baby, wake up."

Stephanie's eyes flew open and she sat bolt upright. "Huh? Oh… Roger, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to wake you."

"I know you didn't, Baby," Roger said. "It was just a dream." He caressed her arm lovingly. "Relax, Baby, you're OK. I'm here."

"But it seemed so real, Roger…" Stephanie said, breathing hard and sobbing dryly.

"Do you want to tell me about it?" Roger asked. "Maybe that will help it go away."

Stephanie nodded and swallowed before she spoke. "Well, it was weird… Jennifer and I… she hadn't lost her baby… and we were both in labor at the same time… but for as long as I kept pushing, there was nothing… it was like our baby was gone, too…" Stephanie started to cry and leaned against Roger.

"It was just a dream, Baby," Roger said. He smiled at her. "If you really need proof, look down."

Stephanie's hand subconsciously went to her round belly and she smiled. "Thanks," she said gratefully to him. "I know it wasn't real… I know it was stupid… but I just keep thinking about it, I guess… praying it doesn't happen to us."

"Stephanie, you're six months along," Roger said. "There's less than a two percent chance that the same thing could happen to you."

"But what about my past with smack, Roger?" Stephanie asked. "Couldn't that affect the baby, too?"

"Stephanie, we've been through this," Roger said. "Your addiction to heroin was almost three years ago now. It's all gone. It was all gone before we even started trying for a baby. You're not using now. It can't have any affect on the baby."

Stephanie sighed and sank against her pillow. "I know," she said, "but I just keep thinking about everything that's happened with me and my past, and Jennifer and Mark, and worrying about it all."

"We've only got two more months to go, Steph," Roger said. "We haven't even worried about those 'new problems with every trimester' I talked about, because you've been so worried about Jennifer. I'm not saying you caring about Jennifer so much is a bad thing, but remember, she said she'd be able to conceive again two months after it happened?" He pulled her close to him under the covers. "Everything's gonna be fine. We're in the home stretch now. Just go to sleep. I love you, Steph."

Stephanie nodded and looked up at him. "I love you, too. Goodnight, Roger," she said, and she fell asleep again.

* * *

Later that day, Stephanie went to the loft to see how Mark and Jennifer were doing. She slid open the door and called out, "Mark, Jen, anybody home?"

"In the living room, Steph," Jennifer called, and Stephanie and Roger walked in. "I'm glad to see you."

"So am I, Jen," Stephanie said. "How are you doing?"

Jennifer shrugged. "I'm OK," she said, but Stephanie knew she wasn't. "How is little Davis, Jr. doing in there? Is he treating you well?"

"You really think it's a boy?" Stephanie asked her. "We told the doctor we didn't want to know." Jennifer smiled. "But if it's a girl, her middle name will be yours."

Jennifer's hands flew to her mouth and tears sprang to her eyes. "Oh, Stephie, would you really?" she asked.

Stephanie smiled. "Yeah, Jen, I would," she said. "I feel like I have so much to repay you for; will that do?"

Jennifer hugged Stephanie tightly as she cried happily. "Oh, Steph," she said, "you don't have to feel like you're obligated to repay me. All I did was help you. And you helped me so much that day at the mall, when I… when I lost the baby… I guess what I'm trying to say is, I'm honored that I have a namesake, Steph."

Stephanie smiled. "Well, you're worth it, Jen," she said, hugging Jennifer tightly.

"Where's Mark?" she asked, looking over at her.

"I don't know. He's been leaving earlier and earlier. He's having a really hard time with losing the baby. Steph, I don't know what to do," she said, looking over at her.

"I don't know, either, sweetie. Do you want Roger to talk to him?" she asked, looking over at her.

"Yeah, maybe," she said quietly, as tears sprang to her eyes.

"Don't worry, sweetie. Everything is gonna be OK. Mark loves you," she said, hugging her again.

"I hope so, sweetie," Jennifer said, looking at her.

* * *

"Mark, it's 10 o'clock at night. What the hell are you still doing out here? Why aren't you home with Jen?" he asked, seeing Mark on a bench.

Mark jumped, startled by Roger's voice. "Oh. Hey, Rog. Sorry, I didn't see you," he said, looking up at him.

"What are you doing out here? Why aren't you home with your wife?" Roger repeated, sitting next to him.

"I can't go home. Jen cries all the damn time and I can't stand to see her like that," he said, looking down at his hands.

"She needs you, Mark. You gotta go home," he said, looking over at him.

"I know. It's just... I feel like everything is falling apart between us. I mean, one minute we were gonna be parents and the next..." he started, as tears welled up in his eyes.

"You weren't. I get it. But you and Jen love each other. You can't let something like this tear you apart," he said, looking over at him. "You made her a promise in the E.R. that day, that you would never leave her, remember?"

Mark looked up. "You heard that?" he asked.

"Mark, everybody heard that," Roger said, frustrated with him.

"But Roger, you don't get it. Your wife is still pregnant," he yelled, getting up and walking away from Roger.

"Mark, I'm not gonna apologize for something working out for me. You get to fucking live," Roger yelled, as Mark continued to walk away.

* * *

"What happened with Mark?" Stephanie asked, caressing her belly as Roger entered the bedroom.

"I'm gonna kick that fuck's ass," he ranted, taking his jacket off and tossing it on the chair in the corner of the room.

"What happened? You were supposed to talk to him. How did that turn into you wanting to kick his ass?" she asked, looking up at him.

"He wants me to feel guilty that you didn't lose our baby. Screw him. He gets to raise our kid when we're gone, so fuck him," he yelled, looking down at her.

"Roger, calm down. You're gonna give yourself a heart attack," she pleaded, looking up at him.

"I'm sorry, Baby. I'm just sick and tired of him wallowing in his own self-pity. He's sitting on a fucking park bench at 10 o'clock at night while his wife is home alone, like she has been every night since they lost the baby. He wants me to be sorry that you're still pregnant. Well, I'm not gonna be. He's the one who gets to live when all this shit is over and he's alienating the greatest thing that's ever happened to him, and that's Jennifer," he said furiously, looking over at her.

"Roger, you were supposed to talk to him, not bitch him out. What's wrong with you?" she asked, getting out of the bed.

"I tried talking to him, Baby, but he was such a jerk. He's acting like he's the only one who lost the baby and he's not. Jen did, too," he said, looking up at her.

"Roger, what are we gonna do? I can't have this baby born into a world where Jen and Mark aren't together," she said, sitting back on the bed, as tears fell from her eyes.

"I'll try again, Baby," he said, leaning over to her.

"Thank you, Roger. It's just, she's my best friend," she said, looking over at him.

"I know, Baby," he said, kissing her hand, as she lay back down on the bed.

* * *

"Mark, are you here?" Roger called out, walking into the loft. Stephanie and Jennifer had gone shopping again for stuff for the baby, so he knew Mark would be home alone.

"What the hell do you want now? Come to tell me what a lousy friend I am? You've already covered me being a lousy husband," Mark snarled, coming out of his and Jennifer's room.

"Mark, would you stop being an ass and sit down, please?" Roger asked, looking over at Mark.

"What do you want, Roger?" Mark asked, sitting on the window seat.

"I'm sorry. I don't know what it's like to lose a baby, but I know what is gonna happen if you lose Jen, too," Roger said, looking up at Mark.

"I'm not gonna lose Jen," Mark said, looking over at Roger.

"You keep acting like an ass, and you are gonna lose her," Roger said, looking over at Mark.

"You call this an apology?" Mark snapped, looking over at Roger.

"Yeah, well, stop being a damn idiot," Roger said, walking over to him.

"Again, not seeing the apology part," Mark said, looking up at him.

"Mark, do you remember when it was just us here? April had just… you know, and Maureen left you for Joanne?" Roger asked, looking over at Mark.

"Yeah?" Mark asked cautiously.

"All we wanted was something normal. The things regular people took for granted. Getting up for work, kissing our wives goodbye before fighting the crowds on the F train? We have that now. We have wives who love us. Yeah, you and Jen have had a rough few months, but my wife doesn't want to bring our child into a world where you and her aren't together," Roger said, sitting next to Mark. "And if I know Stephanie, she will do anything to make that certain, even if it kills her. Jen is her best friend, and you're my best friend, Mark. It's that simple."

"It's just hard, Roger. You have no idea what it's like to lose a child… my son… it rips a hole in you that you think will never heal," Mark said, holding back tears.

"And how do you think Jen feels? You and your wife need to get through this together. All you have to do is talk," Roger said, looking over at him.

"I don't know how, Roger," Mark said, as tears fell from his eyes. "You know, I just run. I can't help it."

"But you do know how, Mark. You just gotta try," Roger said, hugging his friend.

"I'll try. It just hurts so much Roger." Mark cried, looking up at him.

"I know, man, but you don't have to do this alone," he said, comforting him.

"Thanks, man," Mark said, looking up at him.

"No problem. That's what friends are for. To give you the kick in the ass you need sometimes," he said, as they both laughed.

"Jerk," Mark said, laughing and looking up at Roger.

"Dork," Roger retorted fondly, laughing and patting Mark on the back.

* * *

Roger came home from a rehearsal one night, a few weeks later, but didn't hear anything. No water was running, no music was playing, and the TV was off. "Steph, are you here?" he called.

For a long moment, he still didn't hear anything. Then he heard Stephanie yell.

"Roger! Roger, help me!"

Roger bolted up the stairs and into the bathroom. Stephanie was lying on the floor, sobbing and crying. Roger rushed over to her and kneeled down next to her.

"Steph, what happened?" he asked urgently.

"I fell," Stephanie said, through her tears. "There was water on the floor from my shower and I slipped and twisted my ankle… Roger, I fell on my side." As she said this, she lurched forward and squeezed her eyes shut, clutching her stomach in pain. A groan of pain escaped her lips. "Roger, it hurts." She looked up at him, scared and in pain.

"You're in labor?" Roger asked, startled. "Now? How long have you been here, Baby?"

"I don't know," Stephanie said, "about an hour? I couldn't get to a phone."

"I'm calling 911," Roger said. "Stay here, OK?"

"Yeah, as if I'd get up after not being able to move for a whole damn hour," Stephanie snapped. Then she regretted it. "Roger, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that."

"I know, Baby, it's OK," Roger said, as he dialed 911. "911? My wife has fallen and she's gone into labor… No, she's not hurt otherwise, but she might not make it to the hospital… Thank you." Roger hung up the phone and went back to Stephanie. "They're on their way, Baby. It's gonna be OK."

Several minutes and contractions later, the EMT's arrived and Roger met them downstairs and led them to Stephanie. They lifted her onto a stretcher as another contraction ended and whisked her away.

* * *

"She's beautiful, Roger," Stephanie said, looking from the tiny newborn in her arms to Roger, who was standing beside her.

"Yeah, she is," Roger said. "So what are we gonna name her? The nurses still haven't quit bugging me about that yet."

"I don't know," Stephanie said. "We never really looked at names, did we?"

"Nope," Roger said. Then a thought occurred to him. "Wait, I know one. How about Glory? Can we name our daughter Glory, Stephanie?"

Stephanie looked up at him and smiled. "Yes," she said. "Yes, Roger, we can. I like that name."

"So do I, Baby," Roger said, and he leaned down to kiss her. "Say, I'm gonna go call and wake everybody up, OK? They might be awake, anyway; we never really got a chance to tell them it had happened."

"OK," Stephanie said, smiling at him as he left.

* * *

Don't forget to review! Thanks for reading!

Until next time, lots of love,

Renthead07


	15. Chapter 15

Again, much credit goes out to Renthead621 for helping me out with this chapter. I couldn't have done it without you! Thank you so much! To the rest of my readers, enjoy!

**Chapter 15**

* * *

A few hours later, Stephanie and Glory were resting comfortably, and Jennifer came to the door. "Knock, knock," she said.

"Hey, Jen," Stephanie said. She held up Glory, so Jennifer could see her. "Come look at your new niece."

Jennifer smiled and tears welled up in her eyes. "She's beautiful, Stephanie," she said. "You're so lucky."

"Thanks," Stephanie said, smiling up at her. "Pull up a chair, so we can talk."

"OK," Jennifer said, and she pulled up a chair. "Can I hold her?" Stephanie nodded and carefully handed the newborn to Jennifer. "So how did it happen? Mark still isn't speaking to me."

Stephanie closed her eyes in frustration. "Oh, I'm gonna kill him," Stephanie said heatedly. "Unless Roger does first, that is. He can't keep doing this to you, Jen. The loss is yours as much as it is his."

"I know," Jennifer said, looking at her. "Has Roger tried talking to him again?"

"I don't think so," Stephanie said. "There was never time. He will later, though, I promise."

"OK," Jennifer said. "So tell me what happened."

"Well, it was about nine o'clock last night and I decided to take a shower," Stephanie began. "After I showered, I stepped out and there was water on the floor— it's linoleum, you know— and I slipped." Jennifer grimaced sympathetically. "I guess my fall was what caused me to go into labor. Then, well… you know the rest."

Jennifer nodded. "I'm just glad you're OK," she said, looking at Stephanie with concern.

Stephanie smiled. "So am I," she said, looking up at Jennifer. "But more importantly, Glory's OK. The doctor said the fall didn't harm her at all; only made her come a little early. But she's tough."

"Just like her mom and dad," Jennifer said. "She's so lucky to have you two as her parents. If you love her half as much as you love each other, she's gonna be one lucky child."

Stephanie smiled. "So, what do you think of her name? Her middle name is yours, just like I promised."

"Glory Jennifer Davis," Jennifer said, smiling at her. "I like it a lot."

Stephanie smiled. "We do, too," she said. Then she looked seriously at Jennifer. "If Mark shows up, Jen, you should try talking to him. Maybe if you do the talking and he listens for once, something will work out. You two love each other and you know it, even if you are going through a rough patch. Nothing can change that."

Jennifer nodded and stood up, as they heard Roger and Mark talking out in the hallway. "All right, I'll go talk to him," she said.

Stephanie nodded. "You go, girl," she said encouragingly, squeezing Jennifer's hand before Jennifer left.

Roger came into the room as Jennifer went out into the hallway to talk to Mark. "What's going—?" Roger began, before Stephanie put a finger to her lips, telling him to be quiet.

"I want to listen," Stephanie whispered, looking at him.

"Stephanie, you shouldn't—" Roger began.

"I know," Stephanie hissed, "but I still want to. Shush for a moment, will you?"

Roger smirked and chuckled, taking Glory from her and rocking the baby gently. "Fine," he said, and they were quiet for a moment.

"Mark, we need to talk," Jennifer said, following Mark as he walked away from her.

"What about, Jennifer?" Mark asked hotly, turning around to face her. "About how I've been a lousy friend to Stephanie and Roger lately, or how I've been an even lousier husband? Jennifer, I know we both suffered a lot when we lost the baby, but I just don't know how to deal with it."

"Deal with it with me," Jennifer pleaded, looking up at him sadly. "I lost our son as much as you did. I can help you, if only you'll help me, too." Mark began to walk away, but Jennifer grabbed his hand. "Mark, please don't leave…"

Back in the room, Stephanie sat up, preparing to get out of the bed and go out there, if she had to.

"Stephanie, don't," Roger warned her. Stephanie scowled at him, but stayed put.

Mark looked down at Jennifer, his eyes filled with pain. "I don't know, Jennifer," he said. "I don't want to leave you. I know that for sure. I just… you know me, I always run from my pain. I live a lie. Roger said it himself to me once, when we were fighting, several years ago. I don't want to fight with you, Jen, but I just… I need a break."

"You are leaving, aren't you?" Jennifer asked him, as her eyes filled with tears, and she put her face in her hands in despair.

"I'll never leave you, Jennifer Caitlyn Cohen," Mark said. "I just need to go think for a few hours, OK?"

"You've had a few hours, Mark," Jennifer said, hurt by his words. "You've had a few months. How much more time do you need? We both can't deal with this alone; why can't we deal with it together? The way things are supposed to be."

Tears started to fall down Mark's face as well and he sat down on a bench wearily, not saying anything. "OK," Jennifer gave in. "If going to think is what you want… then I'll let you do it. But please come back later, OK? Either here or the loft, it doesn't matter where. We need to talk this over. We need to do something about it. We need to move on. For better or worse, in sickness and in health, remember?"

Mark nodded wearily and walked away from her. Jennifer put her face in her hands and cried.

"OK, I can't stand this anymore," Stephanie said angrily, slowly swinging herself out of bed, so as not to wake up the baby girl sleeping in Roger's arms. "I have to talk to him. Knock some sense into him."

"No, Steph," Roger said, and he handed her the newborn. "You stay with Glory. I'll go after Mark. You just stay with Jennifer, OK? This has gone too far."

"All right," Stephanie said, and she walked around the room, cradling Glory in her arms. The newborn started to cry, as if sensing the high tension in the room. Then Roger began to walk toward the door. Jennifer came back into the room, her face in her hands.

"Jennifer, are you gonna be OK?" Roger asked, putting his arm around her comfortingly as she sobbed.

"I'll be all right," Jennifer said, though both Stephanie and Jennifer knew she wouldn't be. "Just don't kill him, OK?"

"I might not," Roger said. "But this has gone too far. Stay here with Steph, OK? I'll be back soon."

Jennifer nodded and went over to Stephanie, as Roger stormed out.

* * *

Roger stormed angrily into the loft and found Mark in the room next to his and Jennifer's bedroom, which had recently been converted into a nursery. Mark was staring out into space, a glassy look in his eyes. It looked as though he didn't care anymore, that he was close to completely giving up.

"Mark, what the hell is wrong with you?" Roger demanded, and as he expected, Mark jumped. "How could you just leave Jennifer like that? What are you, fucking crazy?"

"Why do you keep doing this, Roger?" Mark asked, looking up angrily at him. "Why do you keep trying to interfere? Jennifer and I are not your problem."

"But it _is _my problem, Mark," Roger said. "You and Jen are fighting, so you and I are fighting and the only sane one around here is Stephanie, and she's about to lose it, too. For Christ's sake, Mark, get a fucking grip and grow up! Be a real man for her, Mark!"

"I told Jennifer I needed to think, not you," Mark snapped. "I intend on going back, just not for a while."

"Do you?" Roger asked testily. "I don't honestly think you do, Mark; not with the way you've been acting lately."

"I'm grieving, Roger!" Mark yelled. "Damn it, why do you always have to interfere, huh? I lost my son, Roger! You can't imagine how bad I feel about that."

"No, I can't," Roger said. "But I can help you, Mark. Get counseling or something, if you need to, but stop wallowing in your own damn self-pity. Jennifer needs you, can't you see that?" Roger whacked Mark on the side of the head; not hard enough to hurt him, but enough to make a point.

Mark backed away from Roger, surprised. "Roger, don't hit me," Mark said. "Fine, I'll talk to Jennifer. But I do really think we need a break from each other."

"Let her decide that, though, Mark, OK?" Roger asked. "You saw how upset she was when you only left the hospital for a couple hours; imagine how upset she'll be if you say you're done for good."

Mark nodded and swallowed, looking up at Roger. "Will you come back to the hospital with me, if it'll only make you stop hitting me?"

Roger nodded, looking down at him. "Of course," he said. "But remember what I said about me kicking your ass if you act stupid again." Mark nodded, and they left together.

* * *

OK, honestly, I hate having fight scenes between Roger and Mark, but I'll see where I want to take it from here. I won't spoil whether Jen and Mark get back together or not, though; you'll have to wait to find that out for yourself! Please review and thank you for reading!

Until next time, lots of love,

Renthead07


	16. Chapter 16

Super short, I know. Sorry. I'm just borrowing the GL reference, by the way, so don't sue me.

**Chapter 16**

* * *

Upon arriving back at the hospital, Roger went in to see Stephanie and Glory, and Mark pulled Jennifer aside. "Can we talk?" he asked, looking down at her.

Jennifer swallowed. "You finally want to?" she asked, looking up at him.

"Yeah, I do," Mark said. "Jen, I'm sorry about what I said; all of it. I was out of line."

Jennifer nodded. "Yeah, you were," she said, looking up at him. "But I know where you were coming from."

Mark nodded. "Still, I shouldn't have said all that I did. I don't want to leave you."

"Well, maybe it is a good idea," Jennifer said, "at least for a little while?"

"You mean, get a divorce?" Mark asked, stunned at her words.

Back in the room, Stephanie, stunned at what she was hearing, sat bolt upright in her bed, startling Glory, who was awake in her bassinet. The newborn started to cry and Roger quickly got her and started to walk around with her.

"Stephanie, don't interfere," Roger warned her.

"I won't," Stephanie said, "but, oh my God... them, get a divorce? It's _impossible_."

"I know," Roger said, rocking the newborn, who had, thankfully, stopped crying. "Just listen."

Jennifer shook her head. "No, Mark," she said. "I don't want a divorce. I just think we need a break from each other, like you said. I can stay with Stephanie for a while, I'm sure she'll be OK with it." Jennifer put her hand on his arm, as he turned away from her. "I just don't want you to be alone." Jennifer looked down and shook her head. "I know that's what I meant by us being separated from each other… but, you know, you do still have Collins and Mo and Jo; Steph and Roger, too."

Mark sniffed. "Yeah, a lot of good they'll do," he said, caressing her cheek. "When Roger finds out, he'll just start fighting with me again. You're the one I want to be with, Jen."

"Well, if you want that," Jennifer said, taking his hand away from her face, "then we've got to put this behind us and move on, Mark."

Mark swallowed this time. "Can I— can I think about it for a while?" he stammered.

Jennifer looked up at him. "How long do you need?" she asked.

"Oh, I don't know… a week?" Mark asked, looking down at her.

Jennifer nodded understandingly, looking up at him. "Sure," she said. "I'll be at Stephanie's while you think about it, OK?"

"OK," Mark said, looking down at her with tears in his eyes. He was so used to them living at the loft together. It wasn't much, compared to Jennifer's old manor, but it was all he had to give her. "So I guess, for now, this is… goodbye?"

Jennifer nodded uncomfortably again. "Yeah, I guess it is. Bye, Mark."

"Bye, Jennifer," Mark choked. Once Jennifer was back inside the hospital room, he turned and ran, tears streaming down his face. Only one thought was running through his head.

_I can't believe this is… goodbye…_

* * *

The next chapter will be up ASAP, and it will start a few days' time after this left off.

Until next time, lots of love,

Renthead07


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17**

* * *

A few days later, the phone rang at the Davis residence. Jennifer, who was still staying there, knew Stephanie and Roger were putting Glory down for a nap, so she answered it.

"Hello?"

"Jennifer?"

Jennifer was surprised at the familiar voice. "Mark?" she asked. "Why are you calling?"

"Jennifer, please hear me out," Mark said. "I know I have been a total jerk lately, and I'm sorry. I really am. Can I make it up to you?"

"How?"

"A date, doing whatever you want, just us?"

Jennifer considered that for a moment. Mark seemed like he really did want to make it up to her. And this was all he could give her. "OK," Jennifer said, "when?"

"Is Friday OK with you?" Mark asked.

"Yeah," Jennifer said. "See you then."

"OK, great. Bye, Jen," Mark said, and then he hung up.

"Who was that on the phone?" Stephanie asked, coming into the kitchen with Roger.

Jennifer jumped. "Mark," Jennifer said, turning around to face her. Stephanie looked surprised. "He wants to have dinner with me and stuff on Friday, so we can talk; a date, doing whatever I want."

"Well, that's good, isn't it?" Stephanie asked, noticing Jennifer's unease.

"I guess," Jennifer said. "He really wants to talk."

Stephanie nodded and squeezed Jennifer's hand encouragingly. "It'll work out," she said. "Just have faith in him."

Jennifer looked up. "I always have," she said, "until recently, anyway. I really hope it does, too, Steph."

They smiled at each other and Jennifer leaned her head against Stephanie's shoulder when they hugged.

* * *

That evening, Mark went to Stephanie and Roger's to pick up Jennifer. He heaved a deep breath to relax himself before knocking. Stephanie answered the door.

"Hey, Mark," she said, smiling at him. "Come in and sit down."

"OK," Mark said, smiling down at her and he walked in. He followed Stephanie to the living room and sat in a chair. "Where's Roger?"

"Upstairs sleeping," Stephanie said. "Glory was up most of the night, just lying there, giggling like a maniac at us. Roger walked her around a lot, trying to get her to sleep, and even drove her around town for a couple hours. She just wouldn't sleep. So Aunt Maureen and Joanne took her to spend time with her today, and he's taking advantage of that." Stephanie grinned. "Are you here to pick up Jennifer?" she asked him. "She's off running a quick errand."

"Yeah, I am," Mark said, looking at her.

"Well, we can just hang out until she gets back," Stephanie said.

"Sure, that would be nice," Mark said, smiling down at her. "It's been ages since we just hung out."

Stephanie nodded. "Yeah," she said. Roger came down a few minutes after Mark arrived. "Oh, hey, Baby," Stephanie said, smiling up at him. "Did we wake you?"

Roger's hair was tousled and he was in his boxers. "No," he said, "I woke up by myself. You should know by now that, if you guys aren't by the stairs, we can't hear anything upstairs."

"And we can't hear anything anywhere else," Mark teased. He ducked as Roger aimed a swipe at him. "I'm kidding, Roger."

About ten minutes later, Mark began to grow restless. "How long did Jen say she'd be gone?" he asked Stephanie, checking his watch. "It's 5:45. Our dinner reservations are at six."

"She said it would only take ten minutes, and that she'd meet you back here," Stephanie said, worried by this. "She's never late, if she can help it."

They all looked up as the phone rang. Stephanie got up from the floor and went to pick it up. "Hello? Yes, this is her…" A moment later, Stephanie suddenly looked horrified. "Really? OK, thank you, Lieutenant. We'll be there right away… Bye."

Mark and Roger both looked at Stephanie, worried by the sound of her voice, as she hung up. "That was Lieutenant Josh Saunders, NYPD… He said… he said…" Her voice choked off.

"What did he say, Steph?" Mark asked, looking at up, worried. "Is it Jen? Did something happen?"

"He's at the scene of a car accident. He said… he said that… that a woman in an SUV ran a stop sign and hit Jennifer and her Porsche. They found Jen's cell phone and called the last number she'd called… which was here. They're three blocks away."

Mark looked horrified. "Oh my God," he said, "we have to go there! Did he say if Jennifer's OK?"

Stephanie shook her head, her eyes brimming with tears. As she put her face in her hands, Roger wrapped his arms around her protectively. "Come on," he said, taking control of the situation. "Mark, Jennifer needs you. We're going to the scene. Now. Go."

Mark gulped nervously and nodded at Roger. Then he turned and ran out of the manor before either Roger or Stephanie could stop him. They followed close behind.

By the time they got to the scene, police and ambulances had already shown up. Jennifer's Porsche was wrapped around a tree and completely totaled. The body of the car was so smashed the door could not be discerned. The door was pried off with the Jaws of Life, and Mark got a glimpse of long, brown hair, matted with blood. There was a smaller car about twenty feet away from her Porsche, resting upside-down on the pavement. Stephanie saw coroners taking away a body bag on a stretcher; her stomach lurched and she almost retched. The person who had hit Jennifer had obviously died. Paramedics, police officers, and firemen surrounded the scene and were holding people back.

"Mark, wait," Stephanie said, grabbing him before he could move forward into the crowd, but he wrenched out of her grip and ran over to the crowd.

"My wife's in that car!" Mark yelled, anguished, at the police, who were holding him back. "Jennifer Cohen. Please let me see her!"

"Please stay back, sir," a female police officer said to him. "The paramedics need to attend to her."

Stephanie went forward to him and she and Mark both started to cry into each other's arms, as they saw Jennifer's mangled body being pulled out of the car. There was so much blood they could barely tell it was her. Her eyes were closed; she was obviously unconscious. The EMT's lifted her onto a stretcher and whisked her away to the hospital.

"Mark," Roger said, putting his hands on Mark's shoulders and gently pulling him away. Mark resisted.

"No, Roger!" he yelled. "I have to stay with Jen!"

"Mark, come on," Roger said, and eventually, Mark collapsed into him, defeated and defenseless. "Easy, easy… Come on, we've got to meet them at the hospital, OK?" Roger began to gently pull him away again. "Come on, it'll be OK. Let's go." Roger looked at Stephanie, who was standing stock-still. Her face was very pale. "Baby, are you gonna be OK?" he asked.

Stephanie nodded numbly. "I don't know, Roger," she said quietly. "Is Jen gonna make it? What are we gonna do if she doesn't?"

"We won't know that until we get to the hospital," Roger said. "Come on. I'll drive."

Stephanie nodded and followed him away.

* * *

Not wasting any time, they immediately drove to the hospital. Mark raced up to the front desk and demanded to see Jennifer. "Jennifer Cohen," he panted, "please, let me see Jennifer Cohen. She was just brought in— accident victim."

"If she was just brought in, then you can't see her yet," the secretary said. "A nurse will come out and get you when you can see her. Are you family?"

"I'm her damn husband and these two are her best friend and brother-in-law, so yeah, I'm family," Mark said, slamming his fist down on the desk.

"Mark," Stephanie said, coming over to him and taking his hand in hers, "come on, you need to sit down. I'm sorry," she added to the secretary, who nodded understandingly. "Sit down, Mark."

Mark did as he was told and put his face in his hands. "Stephanie, what if she doesn't make it?" he asked her again. "The last thing I said to her was… was that I wanted to start over… if she doesn't make it, we'll never be able to… never be able to start a family again… I never got to say goodbye…"

"Mark, stop it," Stephanie said, as firmly as she could through her own tears. "Jennifer is _not _gonna die. You're gonna see her again. You're gonna have a family. We just have to wait." Roger wrapped his arms around her and she took Mark's hands in hers. "It'll be OK," she said. "Just have faith, OK?"

Mark swallowed and nodded as he broke down. "I'll try, Stephanie," he sobbed. "I'll sure try."

* * *

I'll update ASAP! Chaper 18 is in the works right now, so you won't have to wait for long to see if Jennifer is gonna be OK or not. Do I just like torturing Mark like that? I don't know. I love my albino pumpkin head mo fo too much to torture him for long. Keep reading and reviewing!

Until next time, lots of love,

Renthead07


	18. Chapter 18

Just thought I'd mention a random piece of information for you, that Jennifer's doctor's name is based on Shane from A Walk to Remember, one of my favorite books (haven't seen the movie, though) and Riggs is borrowed from my favorite medicine show, Strong Medicine, in which the main nurse, Peter Riggs, is HOT! Josh Coxx. But you already knew that, didn't you, Rosablasifann08? LOL.

**Chapter 18**

* * *

After what seemed like forever, a nurse came out and consulted her clipboard. "Jennifer Cohen?" she asked.

Mark stood up so swiftly that Stephanie jumped. "Is she OK?" he asked.

"Come with me, please," the nurse said, and Mark's heart sank. This couldn't be good. He, Stephanie, and Roger followed her down a long, white hallway.

It was the walk of doom, or so it felt. Stephanie and Mark clung to each other for moral support, and Roger walked close beside them. Nobody said a word.

"You can go in," the nurse said, when they reached Jennifer's room, which was at the very end of the hall, close to the E.R. Doctors and nurses rushed in and out of every room, but not Jennifer's; there was nothing more they could do for her at this point.

Roger gently grasped Mark by his shoulders and pulled him over to a chair. "Sit down," Roger said firmly. Mark nodded and obeyed.

He looked long and hard at Jennifer through his crystal blue eyes, which were softer than normal from stress. There was gauze pads covering part of her entirely black and blue face, and a large bandage encircled her head. Her left arm was encased in a white cast. A sheet was covering her up to her chin, so they couldn't see her body; but Roger, Stephanie, and Mark knew, beneath it, her body was much worse.

Mark pulled his chair close to her bed and took her hand. Jennifer's hands were the only part of her that wasn't damaged. Her hands, normally warm, were uncharacteristically cold.

A doctor knocked on the door and came in. "Hi," he said, "I'm Doctor Shane Riggs, Jennifer's main physician."

"Is she gonna be OK?" Mark asked, looking pleadingly at the doctor. "Just tell us she's gonna be OK."

"She lost a lot of blood at the scene," Doctor Riggs began. "She was lucky to get here alive."

"OK, I don't want to hear all your fucking negativity," Mark snapped, letting go of Jennifer's hand and standing up. "Just tell me how bad she's hurt and if she's gonna make it out of here alive."

"Mr. Cohen, please sit down," Doctor Riggs said to him. "I know this is very difficult for you, but the sooner I finish here, the sooner I'll let you and your friends here be alone with Jennifer."

After a moment of Mark staring angrily at Doctor Riggs, he sat down and listened intently to what the doctor had to say. Doctor Riggs silently thanked him for cooperating and continued.

"Jennifer was hit on the driver's side door by a woman who ran a stop sign. The woman was not wearing her seatbelt and was ejected upon impact. Somebody 'up there' must be watching out for Jennifer, though, because her blood pressure was zero at one point and she had no pulse when the EMT's arrived. She was revived and brought here, where she was treated for a broken arm, broken leg, cracked skull, three broken ribs, and many cuts and bruises. Jennifer is also in a coma."

Mark sank back in his chair and put his face in his hands to hide more tears, but he didn't interrupt. The doctor's face fell to one hundred percent sympathetic before he continued.

"As you probably know, comas as very tricky to deal with, especially if they are not medically induced and controlled. If Jennifer doesn't wake up within 24—"

"24 hours, we know, we get it," Mark snapped. "What will happen to her if she doesn't wake up before then?"

"Then the possibility of irreparable brain damage arises, since even simply getting knocked unconscious causes the brain to swell," Doctor Riggs said. "Her swelling has gone down, which is a very good sign. If she does wake up within the 24 hours, however, we will do tests to see what she remembers and test her movements and fine motor skills. However, due to the head trauma she received, I cannot guarantee she will remember who any of you are, nor know where she is or what happened. We can only find that out when she wakes up."

"You say 'when'," Mark said, noticing this. "So you know she will, then?"

"I don't know, Mr. Cohen," Doctor Riggs said. "We can only hope and pray that she does. But there's something else you should know."

Mark looked up. "What?" he asked.

"Jennifer is two months pregnant."

Mark didn't speak for several moments. He was positively stunned. He leaned his head back against the wall, feeling miserable. "Wow… thank you, Doctor," he said, when he finally found his voice.

Doctor Riggs gave Mark a small smile, shook Mark's hand and gave his final sympathies, and then left.

Mark heaved a heavy sigh and swallowed. "Pregnant again," he echoed, his voice cracking. "Why the hell didn't Jen tell me?"

"I think she might have been trying to," Stephanie said honestly to Mark. "That night when you two separated…"

Mark sent Stephanie a glare, but he realized she was entirely right. "Wow," he said. "How is— how is our baby gonna survive when she's"— he indicated to her comatose form on the bed— "like this?"

"She's not gonna starve to death or anything while she's in a coma, Mark," Roger said. "You know that. They'll do the best they can. She's in good hands here."

"I can't lose both of them, Rog," Mark said, as he sobbed into his hands. "I just can't."

"And you won't," Stephanie said firmly, sitting next to him and putting her arms around his very tense shoulders, "as long as you just have faith, OK?"

Mark looked up. "If you don't mind me asking, Steph," he said, "what is it with you and this sudden 'faith' thing? You've never come across to me as a Christian."

"Mark!" Roger said sharply.

Stephanie was surprised by the personal question, but not at all offended. She shrugged. "I just try," she said. "That's all we can do. Come on, let's get sleeping bags or something and try to rest. It's late."

Mark swallowed again and nodded. "OK," he said, and he followed her out of the room. They got a sleeping bag for Mark and a roll-away single bed for Stephanie. The three of them were so tired, they fell asleep almost immediately. Throughout the night, Roger and Mark traded off sleeping in the sleeping bag and in the three folding chairs.

* * *

When Mark woke up the next morning, it was already one P.M. and Stephanie and Roger were still sleeping. Mark was so stiff from sleeping in the hard folding chairs, he could barely move. But he went over and sat next to Jennifer nevertheless. Jennifer's condition hadn't changed one bit. Mark went over and took her cold hand in his own warm one. He shuddered involuntarily and swallowed before he tried to speak.

"Jennifer," he began in a small voice, "it's Mark. Can you hear me, Baby? Jennifer, I'll do anything to fix what I did to you, the day we separated. Just please wake up, OK? I miss you so much, Baby, and I'm so sorry..."

Mark looked at the clock on the wall. 1:05 P.M. Jennifer's accident had happened shortly before six P.M. the evening before. Mark, Stephanie, and Roger had approximately five hours not to give up hope.

* * *

Don't forget to review.

Until next time, lots of love,

Renthead07


	19. Chapter 19

This chapter was recently posted up, but I didn't think it was good enough after reading its shortness a few times. So I've expanded on it a little, and I hope you readers like it better.

**Chapter 19**

* * *

For most of the final five hours, Mark didn't move from his chair. He was simply breathing, existing. But at the time, even though he knew she was stable, he knew that was all he knew Jennifer was like, too.

Stephanie, who had woken earlier, glanced worriedly at Roger. "Do you think he's OK?" she asked him.

"Yeah, he's all right," Roger said, looking down at her. "He's just being Mark, aside from being in shock."

"What do you mean, 'being Mark'?" Stephanie asked.

"Well, you know how he gets," Roger said. "He's numbing himself to the world right now, while Jen's still in the coma." He smiled reassuringly at her. "I'm not mad at him for doing that; it's his way of coping. Don't worry, he'll come around."

Stephanie nodded and looked at the clock. 3 P.M. Four hours to go.

While Stephanie and Roger were silent for a long moment, they saw Mark move. Then, to their surprise, he stood up.

"Mark?" Stephanie asked cautiously, going over and putting a hand on his shoulder. "Are you OK?"

Mark swallowed and nodded. "I— I think I'm going to go for a walk," he stammered.

Stephanie and Roger met each other's gaze in a silent signal. They knew what Mark was up to. He was running again.

"Roger, let him go," Stephanie said to him, grabbing him before he could go after Mark. "He'll be back. He just needs to think it all over for a while."

"Baby, last time he was gone like this, he was running from the pain of losing Jen in one way, which was his own damn fault, and then he almost lost her for good," Roger said, frustrated. Roger shook his head. "No, I can't let him do this again. If he keeps this up, he really is going to lose her, by her choice or not, no matter how much we keep telling him that."

Stephanie opened her mouth to say something, but she held back. Roger wasn't in a listening mood; nor was Mark. Stephanie didn't know how she was going to change their minds alone.

Stephanie went over to Jennifer's bed and sat down in Mark's chair. She took Jennifer's hand and thought for a moment before speaking to Jennifer.

"Hey, Jen, it's Stephanie," she began. "The doctor said you might be able to hear us if we talk to you… so I'm giving it a try." Stephanie swallowed. "Mark's taking all of this really hard. I don't know if he's talked to you yet or not, but he's really struggling. He tries to hide it, but we can tell. When he hides his emotions, it only makes it worse. Roger and I are here if he needs to talk, but he's not. He needs you, Jen. I know he wasn't acting like it for a while, but he really does." Stephanie smiled grimly. "You're the one who kept him on his feet."

Stephanie squeezed Jennifer's hand fondly and a bubble of hope grew in her chest when she felt Jennifer, ever so slightly, squeeze back.

Stephanie was surprised. She squeezed Jennifer's hand a second time and felt it again. This time, reassured, Stephanie stood up. "I'll be right back, OK, Jen?" she said. "I'm gonna go get Doctor Riggs."

Even though she knew Jennifer couldn't verbally respond yet, she did know that Jennifer could hear her. She went out into the hall and got a nearby nurse to page Doctor Riggs. A few minutes later, he came to Jennifer's room.

"You're right, Stephanie," Doctor Riggs said, "Jennifer is waking up. I suggest you go notify her husband."

"OK," Stephanie said, and she went out to the lobby to make the phone call. "Roger? It's Stephanie, where are you? Where with Mark? OK, well, you need to get to the hospital now… Jennifer's waking up… Doctor Riggs confirmed it when I was there… Yes, come now… OK, see you soon."

Stephanie hung up her cell and went back to Jennifer's room to wait for Mark and Roger to come back. Right as Jennifer opened her eyes, Mark and Roger walked into the room. Doctor Riggs quickly performed an exam on Jennifer's vitals and then stepped away.

Mark went over to Jennifer and took her hand. "Hey," he said to her, smiling down at her. He looked deep into her eyes, searching for any sign of recognition. But Jennifer didn't speak. She simply stared back.

* * *

Mark took Jennifer's hand and caressed it gently. "Jen?" he asked. "Say something, honey."

Jennifer took in a deep breath and slowly opened her mouth to speak. "Hi," she said simply.

Mark heaved a deep breath of relief. "Thank God," he said, and he hugged her, careful not to press on her broken ribs. "You're OK."

Jennifer smiled. "Yeah," she said, "I guess so. Sorry I didn't speak earlier… I was pretty confused about where I was."

"You're at Bellevue Medical Center," Mark said. "You were in a car accident. Don't you remember?"

Jennifer shook her head. "No," she said, "I don't remember any of it. Is that a bad thing?"

Mark nodded understandingly. "That's OK," he said, rubbing her hand lovingly. "We'll work on that. I'm just so glad you're OK. The woman that hit you… she died at the scene…" Before he could stop them, tears started rolling down his cheeks.

"Oh, Mark, please don't cry," Jennifer said, looking up at him and putting her hand on his cheek. "I'm OK, see?"

Mark looked down at the many bandages and casts on his beloved wife's body and almost chuckled, but he ended up choking it back. Leave it up to Jennifer to be so optimistic and understanding about something like this. "Jen," he began, "I'm so sorry… about what I said that day… that day we separated… I'll do anything, if you'll just come home."

Jennifer smiled weakly up at him. "OK," she said, "let me… let me think about it until I get out of here… then I'll let you know, OK?"

Mark swallowed and nodded, heaving a shaky sigh. Tears brimmed in his eyes and Jennifer smiled at him and put her hand on his cheek.

"All right," he said, nodding. "I'll go with that. I'm gonna go for a walk, OK?" he asked her. He leaned down to kiss her on the cheek. "I'll be back later, though, I promise."

Jennifer nodded. "OK," she said. "Bye, Mark."

"Bye, Jen," Mark said, and then he left.

* * *

"Mark, what are you doing here?" Roger asked, seeing Mark sitting on the window seat at the loft. "You should be with Jen at the hospital."

"I know," Mark said, looking over at him. "I'm just thinking."

"Mark, you said it yourself at the hospital, your 'thinking' a while back wasn't working out," Roger said. "You love Jennifer. She loves you. You're going to have a child together, this time for sure. The doctor said there was absolutely nothing wrong with your child this time. What's there to think about?"

"But why will it work 'this time', Rog?" Mark asked, looking over at him with a lost look in his eyes. "Why did it happen before? You can't call something like that a fluke. Why did it happen to her at all, first time or not? I know it worked out for you and Steph, and I'm not saying I'm not happy about that, but why me, why us?"

"I don't know, Mark," Roger said, going over to sit next to him. "Nobody may ever know. Not even the doctors know why it happened to her that day. But the point is, she's alive and she's OK from this accident, and you two are finally going to have that child you've wanted for ages and deserve entirely. There's nothing more to 'think about', except about your beautiful wife and future son or daughter. It'll come quicker than you think, you know."

Mark smiled at Roger. "I know," he said. "OK, all right, I'll go back. After all, I told Jen I'd quit running."

Roger nodded and patted Mark on the back. "Good," he said. "Want company?"

"Sure," Mark said. "It's always good to have company when you want to be alone. Company's the best kind of loneliness out there.'

Roger laughed and they went back to Bellevue. When they got there, Mark went up to Jennifer and sat down next to her and took her hand. "Can you forgive me for what I did?" he asked. "I was such a jerk."

Jennifer chuckled. "But it's OK now, Mark," she said. "I'm going home in a few days and I'll be walking again in a few weeks. The doctor said there's no chance of paralysis. Mark, we've having a baby. What could possibly beat that?"

"Oh, I don't know," Mark said, looking at her. "Having my wife back at home, maybe?"

Jennifer smiled. "OK," she said, "I forgive you. I'll come home."

Mark let out a sigh of relief and tears started streaming down his face. The two of them, reconciled, hugged each other and Mark smiled happily. Things were finally getting back to normal.

* * *

I was listening to the movie soundtrack online tonight, and that definitely helped me with re-writing this chapter, listening to SOL, Rent, OSG, LMC, T4U, OT, ICY, ICYR, and WYO over and over. I love getting lost in my beloved albino pumpkin head mo fo's voice; it's totally awesome and my favorite.) You should tune into it if you're interested; it's not all of it, but if you're like me, and can't find the soundtrack anywhere in your town to buy (CURSES!), you'll listen to it a lot. I've put the website on my profile. Please review.

Until next time, lots of love,

Renthead07


	20. Chapter 20

OK, see if you catch the Anthony Rapp reference in this chapter; I'll give you a clue: it's when he and Jennifer start talking about their child and she wants to pick out names and Mark reacts. It's not spoken, it's description.

Also, the Aida reference is purely coincidental. I wasn't thinking of the play Adam Pascal was in when I had Jennifer suggest it, LOL. Then I remembered. I think that's hilarious. LOL.

Oh, and by the way, Aida's middle name is purely coincidental, too, although I do know that Harry Potter wasn't around until 1997, and this story is based from 1991 on, OK? The Lord of the Rings thing, too; I know the movies didn't come out until 2001-2003, so I guess Jennifer is basing her pick on the books.

OK, I'll stop talking now. Enjoy.

**Chapter 20**

* * *

"I can't do this," Jennifer said wearily, as she struggled to cross the room on her good leg, clinging to the bars for support. It had been almost seven weeks since her accident, and she was at one of her first therapy sessions, after getting her casts removed from her arm and leg.

Mark, who was standing next to her, squeezed her good hand encouragingly. "Yes, yes, you can," he said. "It's just twenty feet, to the other side of the room, Jen. You can do it." Mark smiled at her. "I'm right here. It's OK."

"But Mark, it hurts," Jennifer cried, as she tried to put weight on her weak leg and was only met with pain from disuse. It didn't help that she was finally starting to show, and the baby was giving her extra weight to have to put up with.

"I know, Baby, I know, but you have to," Mark insisted. "It's the only way you're gonna get better." Mark held her and looked into her eyes. "Do it for me, Jen. Do it for our baby. OK?"

Jennifer nodded, putting a hand on her four-months-pregnant belly. She thought about the little one growing inside of her… and the little one that had never gotten a chance to. The doctors were never able to figure out why Jennifer had miscarried before. She could now only hope that she would get through the next five months in one piece, for Mark and their baby.

"Good. Good, Jen," Mark encouraged her, as she took a few steps. "That's it. A few steps at a time… then a few feet… and soon, wherever you want to walk, you will."

Jennifer let out a sob and started to cry. "Aw, Jen, don't cry," Mark said, wiping away a stray tear from her cheek with his thumb. "It's OK."

"How long is it gonna keep hurting?" she asked.

"For the next couple of weeks," her therapist replied, watching Jennifer carefully; but she was not surprised about the tears of frustration. "The more you use it— not just here, but at home, too— the more strength the muscles will gain, and the less it will hurt. But I think that's enough for today. We don't want to push it."

"OK, I won't argue with that," Jennifer said, as she collapsed into her wheelchair, which Mark had brought over. She wiped away the sweat that was pouring down her face. "Can we go home, Mark?"

"Sure, Baby," Mark said, smiling down at her. "I love you." He wrapped his arms around her lovingly.

"I love you, too, Mark," Jennifer said, putting her good arm across both of his, and when they got out to the car, he helped her in, and they went home.

* * *

"So, Jen, do you want to go somewhere today, just us?" Mark asked one morning, coming into the kitchen and wrapping his arms around her from behind.

"Sure," Jennifer said, "where do you want to go?"

"How does Tompkin Square Park sound? We could have a picnic," Mark suggested, "and I could film some, including my beautiful wife and baby." He smiled as he kissed her on the cheek.

"That sounds wonderful," Jennifer said. "That's a great idea, especially coming from you, Mr. Cameraman. I would really like that. It'll get me out of the house."

"Good," Mark said, "I'm glad. Just let me go pack the food, OK? You just rest."

"OK," Jennifer said, and she went into the living room and sat down on the couch. About ten minutes later, Mark came in with the basket and they walked to the park together.

* * *

"You know what we haven't done yet?" Jennifer asked him, once they had finished their meal and were enjoying the serene silence.

"What?" Mark asked, looking over at her.

"We haven't picked out names yet," Jennifer said.

Mark paled as he heard her say this. "Really?" he asked, slightly uncomfortably. "I thought we had."

"No, silly, we hadn't," Jennifer said. "We've been too busy with… with everything that has happened lately."

"OK, so do you want to stop by Walmart or Barnes and Noble or something, before we go back?" Mark asked. "We could get baby name books there."

"OK," Jennifer said, nodding and smiling up at him. "So what names do you want, before we start looking? Because you know me, and looking is going to take a while."

Mark looked slightly alarmed. "OK… um… oh boy, I don't know, Jen…"

Jennifer smiled. "You'll figure something out," she said. "No matter what we choose, I'll still love you."

Mark let out a breath of relief. "I'm glad," he said. "I love you, too."

They filmed for a while and then Mark picked up the basket and they went back to the loft.

* * *

"How about Charlie?" Jennifer asked, once they were back at the loft with a baby name book in their possession. "It means, 'manly',"

"Charlie Cohen," Mark said. "I like it enough, but Roger's band member's named that."

"So?" Jennifer raised a brow at him.

"So, we can't double up," Mark said matter-of-factly. "Doubling up always conveys confusion."

"How about Mark Anthony Cohen, Junior?" Jennifer asked, giving him a look.

"I don't want a son with the same name as me," Mark said. "I hear it enough from my mother as it is. It's so unoriginal. I mean, look at Roger— his daughter's name is Glory. She'll be, like, the only girl on this planet with that name. It's a one and only." He signaled for her to go on.

"OK, how about Arwen?" Jennifer asked. "You know me, I'm a _LotR _buff. It means, 'muse.'"

Mark considered that for a moment. "Arwen Cohen," he said. "I like it. But we told the doctor we didn't want to know the gender."

Jennifer smiled. "Then you'll be stuck with me for a while longer," he said, grinning at him.

Mark chuckled. "I'm cool with that," he said, smiling down at her fondly.

"Good," Jennifer said matter-of-factly, smiling up at him as she flipped pages. "OK, how about Pippin or Pippa, for either a boy or girl? _Lord of the Rings _aside, I've always liked that one. It means, 'lover of horses', but Pippin has no meaning."

"Pippin or Pippa Cohen," Mark said. "Nah, I don't like it. Arwen flows better."

"What about Aida for a girl?" Jennifer suggested. "It means, 'happy.'"

"Aida Cohen," Mark said. "I really like that one; almost better than Arwen."

"OK, so we've both agreed that Aida will be our girl's name, if that's what we're having," Jennifer said.

"Yes."

"OK, now boy names…" Jennifer flipped pages. "What do you think of Bailey? Actually, that could go for either a girl or a boy, depending on how you spell it; it means, 'bailiff, steward.'"

"Bailey Cohen," Mark said. He shrugged. "It's OK. What else is there?"

Jennifer flipped pages again. "How about Kaelem?" she suggested. "It means, 'combination of Caleb and Callum, or the letters K, L, and M.'"

"I like it, but the meaning sucks," Mark said, frowning slightly. "I like just Caleb, too."

"OK," Jennifer said. "Caleb Cohen, meaning, 'rage like a dog'. Whoa, I don't like the meaning at all. Our son would kill us once he found out what his name meant. It flows enough. It's kind of hard to have a kid with the same first letters, though."

"Yeah, he might get mixed up," Mark agreed. "What about Maverick?"

"Where'd you get that?" Jennifer asked, looking up at him, surprised.

"_Top Gun_," Mark replied, smiling at her. Jennifer chuckled.

"Hmm… Maverick Cohen," Jennifer said, as she flipped to find it. She looked up at him. "It means, 'wildly.' Is it all right if I'm not particularly fond of it?" she asked.

"Sure," Mark said, shrugging. "I don't like Mark Anthony Cohen, Junior and I'm not particularly fond of Arwen. You're entitled to not like one of them."

Jennifer smiled. "OK," she said, and she continued on. "What about Storm or Star? I like those. They're cute, and the meanings are obvious."

"They're all right," Mark said. "They mean what they are, though; do you really like that?"

"No, but still, they're cute."

"Whatever you want, Baby, I'll go with."

"Thanks. OK, let's keep looking."

Mark sighed. "How much longer?" he asked.

"Well, we're almost to the T's, so you won't have to put up with me much longer," Jennifer said, smiling up at him. She put a hand to her stomach.

"Are you OK?" Mark asked, looking at her with concern.

"Yeah, I'm fine, don't worry," Jennifer said. "The baby just kicked. I guess this means Star and Storm are out. How about Caleb Maverick Cohen?" she added. "The name with the middle name sounds good."

"Sure," Mark said. "I can go with that."

"Cool," Jennifer said, "Aida or Caleb Cohen." She looked up at Mark and smiled. "I can't wait."

"Neither can I, Baby," Mark said, smiling back at her. "Only five more months to go, and then we'll be parents— for real this time."

"Yeah," Jennifer said, taking his hand, "for real."

* * *

Jennifer woke up on a September morning to a horrible pain in her stomach. She sat up quickly and leaned over and shook Mark lightly.

"Mark," she whispered, "Mark."

"Mark not home, leave a message…"

Mark had rolled over to go back to sleep. "No, I won't let you go back to sleep," Jennifer said firmly, shaking him again as the pain ended. "Mark, get up, for goodness sake. I'm in labor."

Mark suddenly awoke and let out a yelp. "Shh," Jennifer said hastily, rubbing him on the arm, "be quiet, or you'll wake Collins up. He crashed here last night after everybody else went to Roger and Steph's to have a party, so they wouldn't have to be away from Glory. Of course, it had to end once the baby fell asleep."

"Why didn't we go?" Mark asked, even though this was completely off-topic of what she had just woken him up for.

"Do you really think I could sit there all night these days with a belly like this?" she asked him pointedly.

"No, I guess not," Mark said, looking down at her. "Sorry. Are you OK?" he added, as Jennifer cringed again, overcome by another contraction.

"I'm all right," Jennifer said, as she breathed through it. "Just go get the car ready. My contractions are six minutes apart. The doctor said we should wait until they're four minutes apart, and then call them and let them know we're coming in."

"OK, well, when will that be?" Mark asked nervously.

"I don't know," Jennifer said irritably. Then she regretted it. "Sorry, Mark, I didn't mean to snap at you. It's just…"

"I know, Jen, it's OK," Mark said. "I'm gonna go get the car ready." He climbed out of bed and dressed within seconds. "I'll be right back," he added, and he kissed her quickly before he went out of the room.

On his way back into the loft, Mark saw Collins stumble into the kitchen, still slightly hung-over. Collins gave him a weary look. "What are you doin' up already?" he asked. "I know you; it's risky to wake you up before noon." He noticed the stressed look on Mark's face. "Is something wrong?"

"Jen's in labor," he said, and Collins followed him down the hall. Mark went over and helped Jennifer stand up by the bed. As he did so, Jennifer's water broke and she was hit by another contraction.

"Damn it. Mark, make it stop," she cried, clinging to him painfully.

"I can't, Baby," Mark said. "We just have to get you to the hospital. Come on. Collins, help me out here," he added to him.

Collins came over and gently lifted Jennifer up. He carried her out of the room and down the stairs to the car outside, Mark following close behind.

* * *

Collins had called the doctor beforehand, so he was waiting for them when they arrived. Jennifer hadn't let go of either Mark or Collins' hands since they'd arrived.

"How far apart are your contractions, Jennifer?" Doctor Riggs asked, as he came over with a wheelchair.

"About four minutes, I think," Jennifer said, once a contraction had ended.

"OK, then let's get you into a room," Doctor Riggs said, and he wheeled her away. Mark started to follow, but then he stopped and turned around.

"Can you…?" he began to ask Collins, before Collins cut him off.

"Yeah, of course I'll call everyone," Collins said. "Go to Jennifer, Mark; she needs you."

Mark nodded and swallowed nervously, and then he went to go catch up with Doctor Riggs and Jennifer.

"Jen, there's no time for an epidural, so I'm afraid this isn't gonna be much fun," Doctor Riggs said to her, as Mark came into the room. Mark was having difficulty staying strong for Jennifer. Only once had he seen someone in so much pain before, and that was Roger after they had lost April, Angel, and Mimi.

Jennifer nodded firmly, though, and she shot a glare in Mark's direction. "What did I do, Baby?" Mark asked, confused.

"It's your fault I'm here now!" Jennifer yelled at him, as she tried the breathing exercises that were supposed to help. Doctor Riggs sent Mark a reassuring smile and mouthed, "It's normal."

"Just breathe, Jen," Mark said, as he went to stand by her head. A nurse handed him a lukewarm washcloth and he ran it over her sweaty forehead. "Breathe, Jen, it's OK."

If looks could kill, Mark would have been dead in about thirty seconds upon their arrival. After much screaming and yelling on Jennifer's behalf, Mark still encouraging her to push, and Jennifer threatening several times that she was going to crudely remove a much-needed body part of his, Aida Hermione Cohen was welcomed into the world.

* * *

Mark held his little girl in his arms, walking around Jennifer's room, as they waited for the rest of the Bohemians to arrive. Stephanie, Roger, and Glory were first to arrive.

"Oh my gosh, Mark," Stephanie said, tears springing to her eyes, "she's beautiful."

Mark grinned. "I know," he said. "Just wait until you hear how much trouble she was to bring into the world."

Jennifer smirked at him. "Shut up," she teased.

"She never asked for an epidural," Mark said to Roger and Stephanie.

"There was never time!" Jennifer said. "Doctor Riggs told us we came too late for one."

"What's her name, Jen?" Stephanie asked eagerly.

"Aida Hermione Cohen," Jennifer answered, smiling at her best friend.

"That's a beautiful name," Stephanie said. "She's beautiful, just like her mom and dad. Can I hold her?"

"Sure," Jennifer said, and Stephanie handed Glory to Roger and went over to hold the newborn.

"I'm so happy for you, Jen," Stephanie said, smiling down at Jennifer.

"So am I, Stephie," Jennifer said, as Mark took her hand and leaned down to kiss her. "So am I."

* * *

Don't forget to review. This should satisfy you guys for a while. I'll try to have the next chapter up by next week, but I will have absolutely no time for writing this weekend, because I've got a choir tour going on in another state. I'll get chapter 21 up ASAP, though. Thanks for reading!

Until next time, lots of love,

Renthead07


	21. Chapter 21

OK, this is your warning. This chapter is very sad, and I'm pretty sure this story is just gonna get worse before it goes better. My friend Sierra gave me all these tragic ideas today, so if you want to threaten anybody, threaten her, LOL. Or me, doesn't matter. But this is your only warning.

**Chapter 21**

* * *

"Thank you guys all for coming," Stephanie said, looking at her family of Bohemians. They were at the Life Café, celebrating. "As you know, we have an announcement to make." She smiled broadly, as Roger put his arm around her waist. "Today is Glory's first birthday and we found out yesterday that she is negative. But she and Aida are both spending time with Jennifer's parents, who are very much enjoying their granddaughter and bonus granddaughter."

The Bohemians cheered and Stephanie wiped away tears that were falling down her cheeks. After a moment, Stephanie regained her composure. "And I guess we'd just like to thank you guys for always being there for us."

"Aw, Steph, of course we are," Maureen said, getting up to hug her. "That's what we are— we're a family."

Stephanie nodded as a waiter brought out drinks for them, and they laughed as they partied and hung out together, laughing and talking about everything.

"That was a great party," Stephanie said, as she walked back to the loft with Mark, Jennifer, Roger, and Collins, Maureen and Joanne close behind them, with their arms around each other's waists lovingly.

"Yeah, it was," Collins said, as he hugged her close. "Congratulations, Baby girl, we're so happy for you."

"Thanks, Collins," Stephanie said, and she wiped away more tears that had escaped from her eyes. "I'm so happy she's negative. This is the best day of my life— besides our wedding and her birth and meeting Roger and— oh, I don't know. It's just one of the best days ever. Ever since I met all of you, I've never been happier."

"We're so glad to have met you, too, Baby girl," Collins said.

Stephanie had no idea her euphoria would be so short-lived. A man dressed in completely black clothes, wearing a face mask, stepped out of the shadows of a nearby alley and pulled a gun out of his jacket. Stephanie froze and had but a few seconds to think.

"Guys, get out of here," she said loudly, referring to Jennifer, Mark, Maureen, Joanne, and Roger. All but Roger quickly took off running. "What do you want?" she asked the man.

"Stephanie, go," Roger demanded. "You don't want to be here. Go!"

"No, you stay, broad. I want some of your fortune, bitch," the gunman said. "Give whatever money you have with you now, and no one gets hurt."

"Now hang on—" Collins began hotly, stepping protectively in front of Stephanie, but the gunman pulled the trigger and Collins fell to the ground.

Stephanie didn't realize she had screamed until Maureen and Joanne were beside her in a flash. She fell to her knees beside Collins, horrified; Maureen and Joanne made to as well, but Mark and Jennifer held them back. Roger took off running after the gunman after glancing once at Stephanie to make sure she was OK. She was splattered with blood, but unhurt.

"No, don't touch them!" Mark exclaimed. "You two are negative, and we intend to keep that way. Come on, we need to get help!"

And before anyone could think to stop him, Mark had spun around and was off running. Maureen, Joanne, and Jennifer followed close behind.

Stephanie took Collins' hand and tried to hold back the tears, but she couldn't. "Collins, talk to me," she said tearfully. "Talk to me, Collins."

Collins slowly opened his eyes and looked at her. He was crying.

"Baby girl…" he gasped. "Are you… are you OK?"

"I'm fine, I'm fine," Stephanie stammered, squeezing his hand.

"Where'd the… gunman go?" Collins asked.

"I don't know; Roger went after him," Stephanie sobbed. She saw Collins close his eyes again. "No, don't close your eyes, Collins," she demanded, squeezing his hand firmly. "If you do, you'll…" She couldn't finish her sentence.

"I know, Baby girl," he said, opening his eyes again and looking up at her. "But I'm not gonna…"

"Yes, you are," Stephanie said firmly, looking into his warm brown eyes, which were now filled with pain. "You will make it, Collins. I won't let you die! Not here, not now!"

"I'll try not to, Baby girl…"

Stephanie looked over her shoulder and saw Mark, Jennifer, and Joanne coming back. Stephanie looked back at Collins again and spoke to him. "The ambulance is coming, Collins," she said, laughing tearfully with relief. "Hang on, OK? Hang in there." More tears squeezed out of Collins' eyes and he took in a ragged breath. "You guys, do they know where we are?" she asked.

"Yeah, we told them the alley a block east of the Life Café," Mark said. "Maureen's out there, waiting for them. She said she'd flag them down by whatever means. Where's Roger?"

"He ran after the gunman," Stephanie said. "God, I hope he's OK…" Collins suddenly groaned and let out a moan of pain. "Collins," she said to him, as she felt him go limp. "Collins, hang in there, buddy, please…"

"But Baby girl… he's calling me… he's telling me… time to let go…"

"Who, Angel?" Stephanie asked him.

Collins' head fell to the side and he closed his eyes once more. Stephanie gritted her teeth and clenched his hand harder.

"Collins," she screamed, and when she got no response, she knew he was gone. "COLLINS!"

As the ambulance drove up, Jennifer and Mark pulled her back, away from Collins, so the EMT's could load him into the ambulance. Roger suddenly returned, breathing hard. Stephanie went over to him and suddenly broke down. She sank against him, crying freely into his chest. Roger clung to her, tears in his eyes, his eyes blazing with anger.

"I didn't find him. He got away. Easy, Baby, easy…" he said.

"IT WASN'T HIS TIME, DAMN IT!" Stephanie screamed, and she hit Roger in the chest with each sentence she spoke. Roger rocked her back and forth comfortingly nevertheless, taking her rage as it came. "He shouldn't have died! We should have fucking done something! Why did he have to die? That guy wanted ME, for God's sake! I SHOULD HAVE DIED!" Stephanie's voice cracked. When she spoke again, it came back as barely a whisper. "I should have died…"

Roger rocked her back and forth more as she cried. Tears escaped his eyes, too. Roger looked up helplessly at the other Bohemians. There were no dry eyes. "Stephanie, look at me," he said, but she didn't. "Look at me," he repeated, more firmly, and Stephanie did. "Listen to me, Steph. Collins died to save you. I know that wasn't how it was supposed to be... how we wanted it to be... but that's how it is. No matter what, we'll get through this, OK? But for now, you and I, Mark and Jen, we have daughters to get home to and take care of, OK? Let's just go back to them. They need us, now more than ever."

Stephanie nodded. "Somebody needs to go with them, though," she said, indicating to the waiting ambulance.

"We know this is hard for you," one of the EMT's said, "but can one of you come with?"

"We will," Maureen and Joanne said, both to Stephanie and Roger and the EMT's.

"We'll take your car back to the loft, Jo," Roger added. She nodded and smiled tearfully.

The EMT's nodded as well, seeing that the two women were not to be parted, and Maureen and Joanne got in the ambulance and were gone.

* * *

Stephanie, Roger, Mark and Jennifer went back to the loft and drove to Jennifer's house to get Glory and Aida. Mrs. Dawson noticed the looks on each of their faces when she answered the door, and she frowned slightly.

"Are you guys OK?" she asked. She looked at Jennifer. "Jen, honey, what happened?"

Jennifer looked at her mom with tears in her eyes. "Can we… can we come in to talk about it?" she stammered. "It might be best if we all sat down."

"Yes, of course," Mrs. Dawson said, and she let them in.

"Where are Aida and Glory?" Jennifer asked.

"In the living room with... with your dad," Mrs. Dawson replied, and she followed Jennifer and the Bohemians into the living room. Jennifer and Stephanie immediately went over to Mr. Dawson and picked up their daughters.

"Hi, Dad," Jennifer said quietly.

"Hey, sweetie," Mr. Dawson said, hugging her and looking confused. "What's going on? You're early."

"There was a family emergency," Jennifer explained. "Collins was shot and killed by a gunman."

"Oh my God," her parents said together. Mrs. Dawson's hand flew to her mouth and Mr. Dawson put his arms around her comfortingly, as tears sprang to her eyes.

"Jen, I'm so sorry," Mr. Dawson said. "When did this happen?"

"About fifteen minutes ago; Mo and Jo went with the ambulance," Jennifer replied. "We have to go get them from the hospital soon."

Mrs. Dawson let go of Mr. Dawson and hugged her daughter and granddaughter. "I'm just glad you're OK," she said.

Jennifer nodded. "I know," she said. "The bastard was after Stephanie's fortune, or at least some of it. I guess he knew her from her smack days. We'll never know, because he got away."

Mrs. Dawson looked at Stephanie sympathetically. "I'm so sorry, Stephanie," she said. "And you know, about your parents that day… I was only doing what I thought was a good thing."

Stephanie nodded solemnly, but didn't say anything. Her stomach felt like it was at the base of her throat, and she thought that, if she opened her mouth, she would be sick. She just didn't feel like giving Mrs. Dawson a true answer yet, with all that had happened back on hers and Roger's wedding day. She didn't feel like she was quite ready to forgive Mrs. Dawson for what she had done.

Her cell phone went off and she answered it. When whoever was on the other end hung up, she looked at her solemn friends. "That was Mo and Jo," she said. "They got Collins situated. We should go pick them up and make preparations for his funeral."

"Why don't we drive you," Mrs. Dawson suggested, "or, at least, some of you? It would save a trip."

"OK, some of us can go with you," Stephanie said, "but we have to get Jo her car back. They went in the ambulance."

"OK, that's no problem," Mrs. Dawson said. She put a comforting hand on Stephanie's shoulder. "Are you gonna be OK, Steph?"

Stephanie nodded. "Yeah, I'll be all right," she said, smiling at Mrs. Dawson.

* * *

I was crying in second period as I wrote some of this. Please review and thanks. I'll update ASAP. I updated faster than I thought I would this time, but I don't know about next time. I've got part of chapter 22 written up already. It will probably be up sometime next week, maybe sooner.

Until next time, lots of love,

Renthead07


	22. Chapter 22

Just a random mention: Glory's based on my cousin, Navy. She's adorable (curly, dark blonde hair and piercing blue eyes; she looks exactly like her mom did at her age, it's super cool; I wish I could put up a picture of her for you to see, but I can't), and she still sucks her thumb, and she's almost four (you'll know what I mean when you read on.) And Ms. Holby's Wind series is, alas, published after Rent, but whatever, I'm still keeping it in there. Oh, and I borrowed a bit of a Titanic quote that I felt fit just right.

And congratulations to notEASYbeingGREEN for being my 50th review! That makes me very happy. That's all from me. Enjoy the final chapter.

**Chapter 22**

* * *

Three days later, Roger and Stephanie came home in silence from Collins' funeral. The funeral home had done a very good job with Collins, making him look very good after such a tragic death.

"That was a beautiful funeral," Mrs. Davis said. She and Mr. Davis had come up from Scarsdale for the funeral, along with Mr. and Mrs. Cohen, Mr. and Mrs. Johnson and Mr. and Mrs. Jefferson from Hicksville, and lots of food for the grieving family.

"Yeah, it was," Roger said. He noticed the distant look on Stephanie's face. "Baby, are you OK?" he asked her, concerned.

Stephanie shook her head and pulled away from him as he went to wrap his arms around her. "Baby, what's wrong?" Roger asked. "Talk to me." But she shook her head silently.

"We have to go, son, but are you all gonna be OK?" Mr. Davis asked him, giving him a concerned look.

Roger nodded and after exchanging hugs, his parents left.

"Stephanie, wait," Roger called after her. "Baby, what's wrong? Talk to me, honey."

Stephanie turned around to face him and he saw there were tears in her eyes again. "I just can't stand it," she sobbed into his chest. "One second, Collins was standing in front of me… and ten minutes later, he was gone…"

"I know, Baby, I know," Roger said, as he started to cry with her. "I miss him, too. But he's up there watching us right now. He's with Angel and Mimi now. He's happy."

"But he was happy here, too!" Stephanie yelled angrily; not at Roger, but more out of anger and hatred toward everything that had happened lately.

"Yeah, he was, Baby," Roger said. "It wasn't fair that he died, not to him, not to us. But he did and that's that. We can't do anything about that, no matter how much we think we can or how much we try."

"I know," Stephanie said, as she cried in his arms. "But I can't get it out of my mind…"

Roger nodded. Stephanie hadn't slept one bit since Collins was murdered.

"It'll become easier, Baby," Roger said. "I don't know when, but it will, with time. Time heals everything."

"Yeah," Stephanie said. "I just wish I knew how much time; not just for how long it'll take until Collins' death quits hurting, but how much time _we _have left."

"So do I, Baby," Roger said. "So do I."

* * *

_One year later…_

On the night of Glory's second birthday, Roger found Stephanie watching Glory sleep in her room. He wrapped his arms around her lovingly and she jumped and let out a gasp of surprise.

"It's OK, Baby, it's just me," Roger said soothingly, smiling at her.

"Roger, you scared me," Stephanie whispered, leaning back to kiss him.

"Sorry," he said. He noticed tears shining in her eyes. "Are you OK?"

"It's just that I never thought I could be so sad and so happy at the same time," Stephanie said quietly.

Roger was surprised. "What do you mean?" he asked.

"Well, everything has worked out so well for us so far," Stephanie said, "and that's amazing and wonderful, but… then Collins was killed. And today's the… the one-year anniversary of his death, Glory's second birthday." Tears formed in Stephanie's eyes and spilled over.

Roger looked down at her and gently wiped the tears away. "I know," he said. "But hey, you're gonna give her a complex if you keep watching her sleep, you know."

Stephanie nodded. "I know," she said.

"Come on," Roger said, smiling at her. "I know something that will make you feel better."

"You do, huh?" Stephanie asked, smiling mischievously at him, and he carried her into their bedroom.

* * *

"Jen, Mo, Jo, can you come here?" Stephanie asked them, standing in the hallway outside the bathroom.

"Sure, chica, what's up?" Maureen asked.

Stephanie pulled them into the bathroom and she sat on the countertop. "You guys, I'm pregnant," she blurted out; luckily, not loud enough to attract attention.

Jennifer, Maureen, and Joanne's jaws dropped and they squealed excitedly. "We're happy for you," Joanne said. She noticed the look on Stephanie's face. "You don't want to be?" she asked.

Stephanie was confused. "I don't know," she said. "I was hoping to wait until Glory was a little older…"

"How much older were you— er— planning on her being before having a second child?" Jennifer asked.

"I don't know… another few months… maybe another year? It's not like money's a problem," Stephanie said, as she got down from the countertop and walked out of the bathroom with her three best friends behind her. "No, money is definitely not a problem… we've got more than enough of it… we've got enough for like, fifty people to live on for life… I don't even know if Roger has already figured it out or not."

"What haven't I figured out?" Roger asked, suddenly standing in front of her.

Stephanie froze right before she bumped into him. "Um… well… we've never really talked about… how much money we have, and we've been together for almost five years."

"Who's 'we', Baby?" Roger asked, looking down at her. "It's all yours and I make due with what I have. I don't want to live off you for the rest of our lives. I can't do that to my lovely wife." He smiled down at her and wrapped his arms around her. "But since it came up, do you mind if I ask how much it is?"

"No, I don't mind," Stephanie said, shaking her head. "You're entitled as my husband to know. It's a little less than six hundred million. I spent some of it on the heroin back then, but I don't think that even put a dent in it."

Roger looked slightly stunned. "Whoa," he said. "OK, well, is that all you had to tell me?"

"No," Stephanie said, looking up at him. "I— I'm pregnant again."

Roger's eyebrows rose. "You are?" he asked. Stephanie held up the stick in front of his face and Roger saw the two pink lines. "Oh." He put his arm around her. "Well, that's great." He noticed the look on her face. "Isn't it?"

"Well…" Stephanie began. "I was hoping to wait until Glory was a little older… Weren't you?"

Roger shrugged. "I'm 34 years old. I've never thought of a specific age when I wanted to start having kids. But if you're not OK with it, we could always…"

"No," Stephanie said sharply, glaring at him, "no, absolutely not. I will not get an abortion." Tears sprang to her eyes and Roger looked alarmed. "I can't believe you would even suggest something like that."

"I wasn't saying it to hurt you, Baby," Roger pleaded with her, pulling her close. "Of course I wouldn't want to kill my child like that. But if it isn't what you want, then what other choice do we have?"

"I don't know," Stephanie said uncertainly. "I guess we're in the game now."

Roger nodded and put his hands on her shoulders. "But we'll deal with it, OK?"

Stephanie nodded as he kissed her on the forehead. "OK," she said, and she leaned into his strong frame.

* * *

"So what are you hoping for?" Joanne asked, as the Bohemians met up at Stephanie and Roger's manor to hang out with Glory and Aida.

"I don't know," Stephanie said. "I think we're both hoping for boys, now that the initial shock of it all is over, so for once, we agree on something." She smiled at Roger as he caressed her five-months-pregnant belly. "I can't believe I'm this big already and we're only halfway there. We're going in to Doctor Riggs tomorrow to get ultrasounds and HIV tests taken, so maybe he can tell us then. I could just be eating too much."

"But Doctor Riggs said no losing weight while she's pregnant," Roger said, "so for now, the weight gain is normal."

Stephanie sighed. "But my ankles are like sausages and my back already hurts," she whined. "I don't know if we'll make it until July, unless you give me lots of massages."

"We'll do our best," Roger said, smiling down at her.

* * *

"Well, Stephanie, I can see why you're so uncomfortable so early," Doctor Riggs said.

"Why?" Stephanie asked curiously, propping herself up on her elbows.

Doctor Riggs turned the ultrasound machine toward them, so they could see it. He smiled. "You're having twins," he said. "You can see that they're boys."

Roger and Stephanie were surprised. "We are?" Roger asked, looking at Doctor Riggs.

"Who's 'we', Paleface?" Stephanie asked irritably, looking up at him. "I'm the one who's big as a house. You just had a few nights of fun."

Roger and Doctor Riggs burst out laughing. "Well, Stephanie, although it's rare to not detect the growth of twins until this late, I'm still going to prescribe you prenatal vitamins. Take them twice a day with your AZT, just like last time, OK?"

"OK," Stephanie said, and after Roger wiped the gel off her belly, she got down from the table. Stephanie put on her coat and turned back to Doctor Riggs, as a question came to her mind. "Doctor Riggs, can I ask you one more thing?"

"Sure, Stephanie," Doctor Riggs said.

"With Roger's and my HIV, is there anything we can do before the boys are born to lessen their chances of contracting it?"

"We can do a planned C-section once you're in your eighth month," Doctor Riggs replied. "That is, if you make it that far. We don't want the twins born before eight months at best, but earlier than that happens."

"Do you think it will?" Stephanie asked. "I mean, they'll run out of room really quick at this rate."

"I can't tell you that, Steph," Doctor Riggs said, "but we'll keep monitoring them."

"OK, thank you," Stephanie said. "Have a good day."

Doctor Riggs waved to her as she left with Roger.

* * *

"So did you find anything out?" Maureen asked eagerly, as Stephanie and Roger came into the loft. Maureen was practically jumping up and down in her excitement.

"Down, girl," Stephanie said, laughing, and Maureen went to go sit on the couch with Joanne. "Stay. OK." She slowly lowered herself into a chair. "We have good news. We're having twin boys."

"Oh my God," Jennifer exclaimed excitedly, coming over to hug Stephanie, "Steph, that's amazing! Congratulations to both of you. Did Doctor Riggs say anything else?"

"He said that we can do a planned C-section, if I make it to my eighth month," Stephanie replied, putting a hand to her swollen belly. Stephanie sighed. "I really hope they don't come any earlier, because I don't want anything to happen to them. The C-section would also dramatically lower their chances of being positive, especially since my T-cells are high and my viral load is undetectable, as is Roger."

"That's really great," Joanne said. "You guys are so lucky."

"Aw, Jo," Stephanie said, starting to choke up, "you'll get the child you deserve, too. Your road to that is just different than ours, that's all."

"I know," Joanne said, smiling at her. "Maureen's just been bugging me about it a lot lately."

Stephanie laughed. "Good for you, Mo! You two will make great parents."

"Hey, at least the kid would have a damn good lawyer, if he ever got into trouble," Roger teased.

Joanne laughed and threw a pillow at him. "You bet your ass they would!"

Stephanie laughed and hugged her three best friends happily.

* * *

Glory tugged on her father's pant leg as they waited with Stephanie for the OK to go into the operating room. "Daddy," she said, "is Mommy sick?"

Roger picked up his two-and-a-half year old daughter and looked at her big blue eyes. "No, sweetie, your mom's not sick. She's just gonna have that little operation we talked about so your baby brothers can be born, OK?"

"OK," Glory said, and she began to suck her thumb, gazing up at her father through her piercing blue eyes.

"Are you excited, little one?" Roger asked.

"Yes," Glory said, flashing him a very familiar smile.

"So am I, little one," Roger said, smiling at her.

"Mr. Davis," the surgeon said, coming out of the operating room, "we're ready for you now."

"OK, I'm coming," Roger said to him. He turned back to Glory. "I'm gonna go in to Mommy now, OK? You go with Aunt Maureen, Aunt Joanne, and Aunt Jennifer, OK?"

"OK," Glory said, and she hugged Roger around his neck. Roger kissed her on the cheek and handed her over to Jennifer and went in to Stephanie.

"How are you doing, Baby?" Roger asked, going over to her.

"I'm OK," Stephanie said, smiling at him. "I'm really nervous, but OK. How are you?"

"I'm good," Roger said. "I'm probably just as anxious as you are for them to arrive."

"Mrs. Davis, we're about to begin," the surgeon said. "You'll feel some pulling and pressure, but that's normal. We'll be talking you through it all before we do anything, OK?" He looked at her over the mask.

Stephanie swallowed nervously. "OK," she said, and she got lost in Roger's green eyes as the surgeon began the operation that would bring their baby boys into the world.

* * *

"They're beautiful, Roger," Jennifer said, looking into the nursery window with tears in her eyes. "What are their names? And where's Stephie?"

"We named them Collin Marcus and Caleb Maverick," Roger said, "after Collins and one of Stephanie's favorite western romance novel characters." Roger rolled his eyes and Jennifer laughed.

"Oh, let me guess," she said, "that wouldn't happen to be from Cindy Holby's _Wind _series, would it?"

Roger looked down at her. "How'd you know?" he asked.

Jennifer laughed. "Stephanie wouldn't quit talking about that series for about two weeks, back in high school," she said. "She was in love with the main character of one of the books, Caleb Conners." Jennifer grinned at him.

"Oh, OK," Roger said. "Collin is four-and-a-half pounds and Caleb is five pounds. Both are eighteen inches long. Stephanie has to be in the Recovery room for a few hours, but then you can all see her, once she gets her own private room."

"Good," they said together.

"Go tell her we love her," Jennifer said, smiling at him as she held Glory.

"OK," Roger said, and he kissed Glory on the cheek. "I'm gonna go in and see your baby brothers now, OK?" Glory nodded. "You're still my best girl, Glory; you and Mommy both."

Glory smiled at her father and watched him walk away. Then the Recovery doors closed.

* * *

I hope that was the ending you readers were expecting. I wanted to continue on the story with all this tragic stuff happening, but when Renthead621 told me she didn't know if she'd continue reading if I did that, she suggested I end it on a feel-good note. Since I won't do without her faithful reviewing and help, I couldn't do that to her, so here it is. Don't forget to review.

Thank you to all who have reviewed and helped me throughout this story, especially Renthead621. Without you, several of the chapters would probably not have been finished, or their content would have seriously lacked. Our friendship is invaluable to me. I appreciate it so much. You know you're a genius and that you rock my socks off. Thank you.

A sequel will probably be in the works sometime within the next couple of weeks. It will be set 10 years or so into the future. Keep a look out for it.

Until next time, lots of love,

Renthead07


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